I met John Fahje (Fay-gee) for the first time in the spring of 1995, and I was nervous. I met him at his house to ask for his daughter’s hand in marriage. When my now wife introduced us, John asked me, “Do you fish?” I replied that I did indeed fish and he said, “Then let’s eat!” The rest, they say, is history and my beautiful bride Sonja and I have celebrated 30 years together.
Shortly after meeting John I discovered he had been an Eagle Scout and served in the United States Army between the Vietnam and Korean wars. The son of a Veteran, he entered the Army in hopes of becoming an airplane mechanic so when he got out he could work for one of the major airlines. However, the Army sent him to Korea where he became a tank mechanic. John served his 4 years and earned the Sharpshooter Badge in training. He was a fantastic shot. Something he leveraged as a hunter for the rest of his life.
Over the years I got to know John I learned about the things that made him tick. He lived to hunt and to fish. I affectionately called him Daniel Boone because I sincerely believed he could have survived in the wild indefinitely. The year after my wife and I married, we went camping with John and his friends Roy and Cindy in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA). John was in his element! I learned a lot, from felling trees, splitting wood, setting up camp, and fishing for giant Northern Pike. This became a once or twice a year trip to the BWCA, and when first my daughter then my son reached the age of 3, they came along for the trip as well. We made amazing, lasting memories camping, canoeing, and fishing. John would tell my kids that they were trying to catch a “Slobasaurus,” his word for great big Northern Pike. John was a gentle grandfather who loved to show his grandchildren the great outdoors. He would patiently help unknot tangled fishing line or help bait hooks. He would point out different parts of nature or animals to them and help them learn about the great outdoors.
While I did grow up fishing, my family was not the real “outdoorsy” type and we did not hunt. John introduced me to and taught me how to deer hunt in the early years of our relationship. He taught me how to gut deer and process the meat. I had the privilege of going on an elk hunt in southern Colorado with him in 2001…we were on the mountain when the planes hit the Twin Towers. I had a successful hunt and harvested a cow elk. We bonded over carrying the meat two miles back to our camp in large backpacks. Man, what a workout! Thankfully most of the trek was downhill.
Another amazing adventure we shared was a fishing trip to Alaska in 2002. John, two of his buddies, and my wife and I flew to Anchorage, rented an RV, and set out to do some fishing. We fished the Kenai river for Salmon with friends who had recently moved to Alaska and even saw a moose in their front yard while we had morning coffee. We chartered a boat in Homer Alaska for two days and did some deep sea fishing for Halibut. John had done this trip a number of times previously and was having a great time showing us greenhorns the ropes. The man loved nature and experiencing the outdoors to the fullest.
The other fishing love that John had was ice fishing. I had ice fished as a kid a few times with my dad, but it was not something we did a lot. For someone like me who didn’t know that much about the sport, my father-in-law was in it all the way. He worked construction, so he had a lot of time off in the winter. He had a fishing shanty, or skid house, out of Cove Bay on Mille Lacs lake in central Minnesota. This thing was like an RV on the lake, minus plumbing and running water. Eventually he helped me find my own skid house and we would set them near each other every winter catching Walleye, Northern Pike, and Perch. My wife and I would bring the kids up and would celebrate Christmas with Grandpa right there on the frozen lake! We caught so many fish and had so many great times in those fishing shacks.
In 2007 and 2008 John had some medical issues that slowed him down. Then one day we had to have the ambulance take him to the hospital because he was unable to walk. Lots of tests and hospital visits later, we were told he had lung cancer that had metastasized throughout his whole body. The doctors gave him 6 months to live. We had a hospital bed delivered to his home and my wife and I began giving him 24 hour care. We took shifts being with him. I worked nights, so I would go there during the day and nap on the couch next to his bed, and Sonja would come over in the evening and bring the kids and spend the night. I shared a moment alone with him one day when I was standing next to his bed in the living room. He lifted his right arm and extended to me. I wrapped my hand around his and he pulled my hand close. With tears in each of our eyes, he told me no matter what, to make sure I kept bringing his grandkids into the outdoors. I promised I would. We lost John 6 weeks after his cancer diagnosis.
Most people have never heard of John Fahje, and many will likely never know about him. However, he imparted in me a deep love and appreciation for the outdoors, outdoor recreation, and mental rejuvenation that comes from spending time in nature. He wasn’t just my father-in-law, or grandpa, he was my hunting and fishing buddy, and I still miss him.
Today my children are adults, but they still go camping now and then with my wife and I, and my son and I fish and hunt together on occasion. I am so grateful that I learned how to reset by spending quality time with my family in the outdoors from John. May he rest in peace.
About the Author
Phil Ewert is the Content Development Coordinator for Hometown Hero Outdoors. He is the podcast producer and provides voiceover and media production for the organization. Phil is a former law enforcement officer and is passionate about spending his free time with his family hiking, fishing, and camping in the great outdoors.
