By Kristy Wagner

Staff Writer

January marked the start of the ice fishing season, but for Wes Ashe and Heather Cyr it means more than just good old-fashioned winter fun.

Cyr’s husband, Alec, a Kennebunkport resident, died Oct. 23 from colorectal cancer at the age of 35. Ashe was a close friend of Cyr’s husband at Bangor High School.

Ashe, a graduate assistant in the wildlife ecology department at the University of Maine in Orono, organized an ice fishing tournament last year through the university.

“We wanted some kind of competition out on the ice,” Ashe said.

This year he said he wanted to do the tournament again and started planning the competition last fall.

“Then I heard of Alec’s passing,” Ashe said.

While at the funeral he got the idea to hold this year’s tournament in memory of his friend and donate half of proceeds to the Cyr family in the form of an education fund for the Cyrs’ infant son, Chase.

The rules of the tournament are simple. Participants must pay the registration fee of $10, catch as many fish as they can between Jan. 1 and March 31, e-mail Ashe photos and measurements of all fish caught and show up at the lottery to determine who wins the purse.

Participants can fish on any day and at any time and can catch any species of fish. Ashe said the anglers who catch the longest in length of each category of fish receive a token. The tokens are thrown into the lottery and whichever one is drawn wins the purse.

Last year’s lottery was held at the University of Maine in Orono, but Ashe said he has not yet decided where to hold it this year.

Both Ashe and Heather Cyr said fishing was a “passion” for Alec Cyr.

“Alec was a fisherman and his friends are fishermen so why not dedicate a winter to fish for Alec and Chase and Heather?” Ashe said.

Ashe and Alec Cyr were supposed to go striper fishing in July, but Ashe’s grandmother died on the day he had planned to fish on Cyr’s boat. He said he did not get the chance to speak to Cyr again before he died.

Cyr’s wife said Ashe approached her via e-mail about holding the tournament in her husband’s name.

“(Ashe) e-mailed me and said he did this ice fishing tournament last year and he thought that it would be great if we could do it in honor of Alec and have some of the funds go toward Chase,” Heather Cyr said. “I’m just trying to carry on (Alec’s) legacy through what he loved to do, which is fishing and being outside.”

Ashe said there are currently about 25 participants signed up for the tournament, but more entries are still possible. He said most of the tournament publicity has been word of mouth.

“People can register any time they want,” Ashe said.

He said he has received some donations outside of the tournament from people who knew his friend. Even though old high school friends might not be fishing for Cyr, some have reached out to Ashe.

“Right now there aren’t many actual classmates in the tourney, but I’ve gotten a lot of e-mails showing support,” Ashe said.

Heather Cyr said her husband was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in 2009, shortly after their first wedding anniversary. Alec Cyr met his wife when he lived in Massachusetts after graduating from the University of Connecticut. Heather Cyr said she used to vacation in the Kennebunks as a child with her family, so the couple decided to live in Kennebunkport when they moved to Maine from Massachusetts.

Heather Cyr said along with the ice-fishing tournament, she and her husband’s family and friends formed a team of about 100 people to run in a road race in south Boston called “Get your Rear in Gear.” The 5K race is held to raise money for colon cancer education and prevention.

Heather Cyr also hopes to plan a striper fishing tournament in her husband’s name next summer. She said Ashe will be included in the organization of that tournament.

“I just want to keep his name out there and raise awareness of this disease,” Heather Cyr said.

She said the ice fishing tournament and other efforts to raise awareness help to get her through the days since her husband died.

“It’s been challenging getting through these past few months but having these little events keeps me busy and gets me through,” Heather Cyr said.

She said she has been trying to spread the word about the ice fishing tournament since Ashe contacted her about it.

“If we get word out we can get more people. Who doesn’t want to compete for a little money or fun?” Heather Cyr said.

“What’s cool about this tournament is you can fish on any legal water throughout the state of Maine,” Ashe said.

Both Ashe and Heather Cyr hope the statewide aspect of the tournament and the liberal rules will attract more participants before the end of the ice fishing season. 

“For me, personally, I’m not just out there searching for fish; I’m fishing for a cause. It’s for good things, something good for good people,” Ashe said.

He said he remembers his friend as “quite a guy” and that Alec Cyr held his family together throughout his illness.

“(Alec Cyr) was just like a rock and he was so at ease with whatever happened. He wasn’t going to get all worked up,” Ashe said about his friend’s fight against cancer.

Heather Cyr had similar recollections about her husband’s attitude after his diagnosis.

“(Alec) never let the disease get the best of him. He just really took every day and made the best of it. I just admire him so much for that,” Heather Cyr said.

She said her husband was a true outdoorsman and together they hiked Mount Katahdin in August – two months before Alec Cyr died.

She said the fishing tournament is appropriate to be held in her husband’s memory because it was something he loved to do with friends and family.

“(Alec) just really had a passion for his family and for fishing,” Heather Cyr said.

Staff writer Kristy Wagner can be reached at 282-4337, ext. 233.