No one could read a river better than Kregg. Fishing was one of Kregg’s favorite things. He also loved Oreos and barbeque, Etta James, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jimi Hendrix, telling stories, the Seahawks, collecting pinball machines, skiing powder, and pissing off his sister, Carolyn. Not necessarily in that order. He hated hypocrites, cilantro, and Seattle traffic. Not necessarily in that order.
Kregg always managed to engage strangers, whatever country he was in. He’d get their stories and had no problem with mime and gestures if language wasn’t working. This made for interesting-looking conversations and explains why he was tossed from a bar in Rio, but that’s another story. He took equal pleasure in both annoying and delighting his wife, Miriam, sometimes at the same time. And although exceptionally talented at figuring out and understanding the mechanics of just about anything, he never really did grasp the concept that light switches work both ways. When his beloved niece, Darian, was just a toddler, they would take their lunch together each work day and every one of those meals was a singular joy for both of them.
His favorite haunts were the lakes, streams, and mountains where his limitless curiosity and respect for the natural world were set free. Kregg’s friendships lasted his entire life and from his earliest years he always managed to make trouble – if it couldn’t be found – with his buddies and Steve Hall , Arno Jaanson, and Brian Keene, whom he considered as his brothers. Those stories will take at least another two decades to tell.
He is far away and happy. He is on the river just before daylight, watching the currents and noting where the fish he hooks will run. It is cold and misty. It is the river and the steelhead and Kregg.
He is survived by his wife, Miriam Wilson, his parents, Joan and Robert Wilson, his sister, Carolyn Conn, and her husband, Dennis Conn, and his niece, Darian Conn, his aunts, Marilyn Blake, Missy Blake, Wendy Blake, and Jean Hemenway, and their families, his cousins. Remembrances in honor of Kregg’s life may be made to the Heifer Project.