Posted by Tom Browning on December 30, 2003 at 09:49:05:
In Reply to: Mr. Vest obituary as published in the Greenville News posted by Striper Kings on December 30, 2003 at 00:50:06:
Mr. Vest introduced me to striper fishing on a warm summer evening, six years ago. He took my daughter and I night fishing. My fondest memory of that evening was watching him teach my daughter. Rarely have I seen a person so dedicated to helping someone else, as he was that night. When she finally got a fish to the boat, her beaming smile was matched by his own. Never have I met a man more committed to his sport and to Striper Kings. Like many others before me, Mr. Vest had hooked me as a striper fisherman for life before we got back to the dock.
It would be easy to say that he'll be missed and let it go at that. But Mr. Vest will not be missed. As long as there are men and women out on the water who put fellowship before competition; as long as there are those he taught by his example to value friendship over fame, he will not be missed. As long as we remember that “his” sport isn’t about taking- it’s about giving. He will be remembered. And he shall be remembered every time we push off from the dock, every time we take a kid fishing, and every time we stop to shake a friend's hand or share a smile.
With warmest regards for a gentleman in every sense of the word,
Tom Browning