TUKTOYAKTUK - When there was fresh snow on the ground and a full moon in the sky, Henry Nasogaluak was never indoors.

Respected polar bear guide Henry Nasogaluak, seen here during his last sport hunting trip in April 2009, died of cancer Nov. 26. - photo courtesy of Jason Nasogaluak

'He'd be out there early in the morning," his son, Jason, remembered in his father's eulogy last week, "because he's tracking wolves and wolverine at the same time as hunting caribou."

The elder Nasogaluak, also known as Anaqiin, who grew up in Tuktoyaktuk and made his living as a hunter and a polar bear guide in Sachs Harbour, died of cancer at the age of 61 on Nov. 26 – less than a year after his diagnosis. He had gone on his last big game hunt in April. Henry left behind a tight-knit family in Tuk and Inuvik, including his oldest sons Darrel and Jason, his spouse and 10-month old Henry Jr. and eight grandkids as well as far-flung relatives from Paulatuk to Edmonton.

"It was really shocking because I knew my father was a strong man," said Jason. "He survived a lot in his time."

Henry learned how to hunt early, catching his first polar bear when he was 13. Twice, he fell through thin ice while chasing a bear in the dark, but managed to escape the icy depths. On top of that, his son Darrel said, in the 1970s and 1980s Henry survived two plane crashes: "one where the plane ran out of fuel in the air and another one where they crash-landed and did quite a bit of damage to the aircraft. And in both of them he walked away," Darrel marvelled. "He was pretty fortunate."

As a young man, Henry left Tuk for Sachs Harbour, hunting and trapping big and small game – white foxes, geese, bears, wolves, caribou. He married his first wife, Florence Kotokak, in 1968 and raised a family, two sons and a foster daughter.

"In the winter we didn't see too much of him because he was always on the trap line. Only during Christmas and after the traps were closed in April did we see much of him. He was always out," said Darrel, without a trace of bitterness. "The Banks Island trappers were all very well-respected because they were hard workers and very aggressive so they really got a lot of respect from the people."

"He was really generous as we were growing up. He would send a lot of country food to relatives all over Tuk and Paulatuk," Darrel added.

In his free time, Henry liked to play cards and strum classic country songs – the likes of Hank Williams – on his guitar.

"I remember how many evenings when I was a kid that he was always playing guitar with my mother," said Jason, who also picked up the musical talent after lessons from his father.

The family moved back to Tuk in 1985 to be closer to Henry's parents, and Henry shared a trapline with his childhood friend, Angus Cockney.

"Somebody's going to have to inherit his line. I don't know who," said Darrel, explaining that although Henry taught his older sons to hunt, neither of them saw a future in it and their father didn't blame them for not following in his footsteps.

"He didn't mind it one bit. He said it was a really hard life," Darrel said. "By the time we came of age, the fur prices had dropped so much that it wasn't profitable."

In an interview with the Associated Press last fall, Henry repeated the same sentiments, saying he didn't want his namesake baby boy to grow up living the gruelling life of a hunter.

"He wanted to see his son grow up," said Jason. "(I told him) 'don't worry about him. We'll take care of him. He's our younger brother now so we're going to take care of him.'"

"It's not going to be the end. He taught us to be strong people."