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SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
Paul Laserich, a seasoned pilot and general manager of Adlair Aviation Ltd., has died.

Paul Laserich, a part owner of Adlair Aviation, enjoyed spending time fishing on a body of water he and Mike Murphy dubbed "Lasmur Lake" – a combination of names in honour of their longtime friendship. Laserich died Saturday at the age of 52. - photo courtesy of Paul Laserich

Longtime friend Mike Murphy, a pilot with Air Tindi, said Laserich, 52, was found in his Yellowknife home by his younger brother Rene Laserich Saturday, Nov. 19. Family members told him Laserich died of natural causes, said Murphy, and added that his death came as a shock and that family members are still struggling to process what happened.

Laserich used to say that he was drafted into a life of flying, said Murphy. When Laserich was attending Sir John Franklin High School, his father, the late legendary Northern pilot and Aviation Hall of Fame inductee Willy Laserich, would sometimes pull him out of school to help with the spring fuel caching.

Laserich and Murphy, also 52, met when they were teenagers and went on to attend flying school together in Ponoka, Alberta.

"Aviation can be a tough industry ... and can harden some people but Paul never lost his generous spirit no matter how tough things got," said Murphy.

Recently, things had gotten quite tough.

Last summer, the Government of Nunavut awarded the medevac contract for the Kitikmeot region to Yellowknife-based Air Tindi and its partner Aqsaqniq Air. The contract, worth millions of dollars annually, had previously been held by Adlair Aviation for 20 years. Laserich appealed the decision but the Nunavummi Nangminiqaqtunik Ikajuuti appeals board denied his appeal in October. Laserich died just 11 days before the last Adlair medevac flight for the GN.

Murphy described Laserich as a tenacious man who "wouldn't give up until he got what he wanted." At the age of 23 he took on the task of restructuring the family business and, despite a lack of formal business training, went to Ottawa with Rene and managed to secure a charter license from Transport Canada, Murphy said. "They basically sat on the steps in front of Transport Canada until they got their charter license."

Laserich was also kind and giving.

"Everybody was welcome in his office at the Yellowknife airport," said Murphy. "Strangers quickly turned into friends and he loved taking kids on tours through his office and hangar. And many people got their first float plane ride with him from the Back Bay to his cabin on a nearby lake."

Laserich was an avid fisherman and, as a pilot, had access to some of the best fishing spots in the territory. He would always distribute the fresh trout among a group of his friends after a trip, said Murphy.

His generosity was also apparent in his support of local aviation, whether it be hosting a group of international pilots at the Adlair hangar for Air Sport Adventure or sponsoring a $5,000 scholarship to Aviation Career Development Program. He was also willing to donate his hangar space for various causes. It was the site of Yellowknife's first 25-year reunion and more recently, the venue for the memorial for pilot Matthew Bromley, 28, and Timothy Harris, 54, who died when Bromley's Air Tindi Cessna 208B crashed near Lutsel K'e on Oct. 4.

"He would volunteer the hangar for whoever needed it," said Murphy. "We never thought we'd be doing (Laserich's memorial) in there, I'll tell you that."

Laserich had a lot of charisma, said Murphy. "People never forgot him. If you met him once you would probably always remember him," he said.

Even if you'd had never met him, you'd likely recall the iconic sight of him cruising city streets in his red Cadillac convertible, with an outback hat perched atop his head.

Laserich is survived by his brother Rene, sisters Joann and Bessie, niece Jesce Rose and nephew Bryan.

Plans for a memorial service were not yet confirmed at press time.

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