What You Leave Behind

By Ronnie Parris

He was born June 25th, 1943 on the head of Alarka Creek, which is located in Bryson City, North Carolina. He was the son of Fred and Wilma Parris, and was one of their six children. He was married to the love of his life, Linda Gunter, in 1967 and was blessed with her love for the remaining 52 years of his life. Dale was blessed with two fine boys, Brad and Chad, with whom he loved to spend time in the outdoors. He was also blessed with the diamonds of his eyes, two beautiful granddaughters, Caroline and Chloe. His career choice was in education and he served as principal at Morning Star Elementary until 1976, when he was asked to be the first principal at Junaluska Elementary School, where he stayed until retirement in 1996. Dale was my uncle and throughout my childhood, he was always larger than life to me.

We both shared the same love for the outdoors whether it be hunting or fishing. I’ll never forget when he told my dad he was going to retire. Dad tried to get him to stay saying, “You will not be able to get a job as good as this and you can’t hunt and fish everyday. You will get tired of it and want to go back to work”. My uncle’s response was, “Son, I’ve worked all my life so I could get to enjoy hunting and fishing and now I’m gonna get to”. About 10 years ago, I reminded uncle Dale of that and I asked if he had ever gotten tired of it over the years. With a big grin, he laughed and said, “Son, the only thing that’s changed is now I don’t have to get out on the nasty days when the weather is bad, like I did when I was working at the school”.

As a boy, I would sit for hours and listen to Dad and Dale tell hunting tales about when they were boys hunting Fog Mountain, Bearmeat Branch and back in the Big Laurel. Back then, the meat was a valuable staple on the dinner table and Dad would always tell me about how they would swap a pound of Gensing for a box of shells. Dad was always the best shot I knew and he said that when they were growing up, Dale hardly ever missed. He was one of the first people to get me hooked on turkey hunting and was one of the best callers I’ve ever known. On one hunt, we went together and as dawn was breaking, we split up-Dale going up one hollow and me taking the other. As it was barely light enough to see, I heard Dale “owl hoot” and sure enough, at the top of the mountain in the hollow I was walking, an old Tom gobbled.

I would sneak as quietly as possible and every few minutes Dale would hoot and old Tom would gobble. While the gobbler was focused on Dale’s owl calls, I was able to sneak to around 200 yards of the Tom’s roost. As soon as it got good light, I started calling on my old box and slate calls and the tom couldn’t stand it and pitched down close and, with a few more soft calls, was in my sights. After the shot, I had my bird and was heading out, I thought how lucky would it be if Dale was able to get on a gobbler too. I was almost back at the truck when I heard his 12-guage roar. It was a awesome morning with both of us bagging a turkey.

We enjoyed so many fishing trips whether it be fishing at night with a nightcrawler for an ‘ol walleye or casting a minnow for bass. Dale taught me so much over the years, from fly fishing for our mountain trout, to trying to get my first birddog trained. The dog seemed to think I was the one needing to be trained. Dale always seemed to know what to do, where to go, and what flies the fish would hit best. He was always happy to help anyone in anyway he could, never being jealous of someone else’s success. I remember on one hunting trip to Georgia, he put his arm around my neck an asked me if I knew the lord and that I needed to make sure I knew where I was going when I leave this World.

Well, Uncle Dale passed away January 11th of this year, and I may not know much but I know where his soul went. He left a lot of family behind that will miss him terribly. He left so many friends and neighbors who thought the world of him, as was evident by the numbers that came to hear his eulogy. But to me, what he left behind was a legacy of love and a love for the outdoors that will live in those lucky enough to have known him, for the rest of our lives.

Ronnie Parris is the Owner and Head Guide of Smoky Mountain Outdoors Unlimited-Fontana Lake Fishing Guides, headquartered in Bryson City, North Carolina, heart of the Great Smoky Mountains. (www.smokymountainoutdoorsunlimited.com).