Bob CollinsToday’s confirmation that life is utterly unfair comes from Iceland where a couple from La Crescent, Minn., died while fishing, the Star Tribune says.
“They’re just your finest, salt of the earth people,” Patrice Veit tells the paper about her sister and her brother-in-law. “Kind and witty and intelligent. Generous. Loving, passionate about their interests. Accepting. Socially responsible.”
And big fans of fly fishing.
Janet Veit and Brian Schumacher were on their first international trip.
Veit, 48, a veterinarian, discovered fly fishing three years ago and had just been hired as a fishing guide. Schumacher, 48, was a histologist at Gundersen Health Clinic, was also a guide in Preston, Minn. Veit had just been hired as a guide too, her sister said. She loved fishing for brown trout and Arctic char. They both taught fly fishing to wounded veterans.
Schumacher waded into the water and got caught in the current. Veit jumped in to try to save him, according to the Strib, although the embassy reportedly said that Schumacher was trying to save Veit. They were both swept into the lake, where they drowned.
“In a world of wonderful people, Janet and Brian were pretty near the top,” her sister said on Facebook. “They loved their families, their friends, their colleagues, their dogs and cats, and most importantly, each other. Please keep them in your hearts today and in the future.”
“We take odd comfort in the fact that they died together, one thinking they were going to be saved, the other thinking they were going to be the savior,” Patrice Veit tells the paper.
