I am greatly saddened by my recent discovery of the passing (Oct 2020) of Mr. Royce Tennant.  As a camper, we called him Mr. Tennant, with respect.  He was a wonderful man who opened a door to sports, nature, friendship, and character for the many campers that attended Wee - Gee - Wa. As a 7 yr. old I attended the first year of the camp during the first two weeks in August.  This was an enduring habit for the following 6 years, except that,  I stayed for the total month of August.   I wouldn’t have wanted to be anywhere else or led by anyone else.  Through his door of opportunity, we learned and played volleyball, basketball, baseball, soccer, tennis, football, swimming, sailing, archery, riflery, fishing, water skiing and more, including boating, camping and canoeing, especially with our 3 day and 6 day canoe trips which included a journey down the full length of the Moon River. I also met Gordie Howe, Mark, and Marty at camp, as well as Bobby Orr on the front walk of his house in Parry Sound with Royce. In meeting Gordie Howe in Kingston Ontario many years later, I asked Gordie, and he fondly remembered the Camp and Royce, and the fishing.  Mr. Tenant was a remarkable man who shared a dream with us all and opened a door to the wonders of his world where we all grew and learned from each other, and the natural world around us.  We were lucky to be part of his dream, in a camp of magnificence, not in a city setting, but hewn from the wilderness around Clear Lake, shared with the porcupine, bear, moose, the howling wolves, turtles, frogs and yes, even rattle snakes.  I have a tear in my eye as I recall the memories that will never die, thanks to a great gentleman with a dream.  Thanks, RIP and God Bless always to Mr. Royce Tennant. Belated but sincere condolences to Mrs. Tennant (Anne) and family.  

I attended our rememberence for my Uncle Royce and was pleased that wee gee wa is part of his life's narrative. I'm sure for many campers that place and time was special.
I am the oldest Tennant cousin and not a camper but at 4 & 5 the camp and its construction left an impression. A curvy road through the woods ended at the boat launch for our ride to camp. We traveled through one lake to a waterlilly filled canal where the motors were lifted and we paddled through to Clear lake. Canoeing campers would impressively salute us with vertical paddles. On arrival a tall wood dock, a rustic wee gee wa sign, huge snapping turtles with ping pong eggs, spring mosquitos, mice who chewed the toilet paper, giant bullfrogs and tiny tree frogs. The scything of the grass for the new tennis courts and the giant propeller in the dining room.
It's a feat to start a business. The vision, the confidence, the promotion, the energy, the altruism. Uncle Royce had these assets and now the campers with their life's work behind them can see what an accomplishment it was.
Sincerely LJ Tennant.

I was sorry to learn of Royce’s passing. I only found his obituary in a very roundabout way almost a year later. Curious as to where he ended up after Camp Wee-Gee-Wa, I had tried to track him down many years ago through an on-line search but without success. Like a great number of others who worked at the camp, I owed Royce and Anne a great deal of thanks for the summer employment opportunity they provided to me and other university students. 

As a counsellor there for two years in the late 60s, the camp was an amazing place for both campers and counsellors alike. It was only many years later that I appreciated how much entrepreneurial and creative talent and work Royce and Anne needed to establish such a unique camp from scratch on the shores of a small lake and only accessible by boat. 

As a student counsellor it was a dream job with all sports, canoe tripping and outdoors employment experiences and camper challenges one would ever want, even being introduced to Bobby Orr by Royce before Bobby joined the NHL. For Royce and Anne it must have been a series of constant challenges to go along with the unique experiences and sports instruction that they and the camp provided to campers.  Parents’ Visitor Day was an adventure for counsellors and parents alike as we transported the parents to Wee-Gee-Wa in outboard motor boats. We watched parents meet the kids, enjoy the camp and then migrate to wherever Gordie Howe was when he came to visit his two sons so they would have the opportunity to see him off the ice!

Years later another counsellor and I went back to the unoccupied camp site with our spouses and realized that you can rarely go back but the memories stay with you. Thank you Royce and Anne. 
David Reid, Toronto 


I was first a camper and then a counsellor at Camp Wee-Gee-Wa during the 1960s. The brilliant summers the camp provided me and so many others, we have Royce to thank for.  I got to know Royce quite well. He was a great leader, kind, generous, good-natured. He taught me the need and value of hard work. I am sorry I lost track of him as I owed him so much as mentor and friend. Indelibly etched in my mind are Royce’s end-of-camp campfires when he would tell the assembled campers the legend of Chief Wee-Gee-Wa, a spellbinding tale of the escape of the remaining members of the Huron nation from their Iroquois pursuers and how at night they silently passed through the various lakes around the camp as they made their way to freedom and safety in Quebec. Thank you, Royce. May you rest in God’s peace!

As a youngster camper I have fond memories of Camp Wee-Gee-Wa, and for the  values it instilled.  Royce was  a thoughtful and caring man, may he rest in peace and light.  I'm sorry I never looked him up- I had no idea he lived here too. 

Bill Wilson
Nanaimo BC   

OBITUARY

Royce Gerald Tennant

29 March, 1933 – 29 October, 2020

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