Jon Jolly, local kayaking teacher, dies

As co-owner of center in Danbury, he helped promote sport in N.C.

By: By Lisa O'Donnell | JOURNAL REPORTER
Published: October 16, 2008

For 13 years, Jon Jolly calmed the fears of hundreds of first-time kayakers who wanted to paddle the Dan River.

As a co-owner of Hanging Rock Outdoor Center in Danbury, Jolly shared his love of paddling with everyone from young children to senior citizens.

Jolly, 41, died unexpectedly Tuesday. The cause of death was not available

The local paddling community is mourning Jolly's death, said his friend and fellow paddler, Robert Myrick.

"He helped tons of people get into white-water kayaking who couldn't really afford to spend $1,000 to $1,400 up front," Myrick said. "He would work with them."

Jolly would arrange affordable payment plans or make handshake deals so that beginning paddlers could afford the gear, Myrick said.

Jolly helped start the outdoor center in 1995, a time when paddling was not as popular as it is today.

The center, which teaches classes, leads trips and rents boats, was one of the first outfitters along the Dan in Stokes County.

Jolly specialized in soothing the jitters of novices and often delivered the safety talk that precedes trips down the Dan, said his wife, Christine Jolly, the president of AIDS Care Service.

"He did everything he could to make it nonthreatening," she said. "He wanted to make sure people fell in love with the sport like he did."

Jolly embraced adventure, from shooting churning rapids on Wilson Creek to whizzing down Black Diamond, expert-level ski slopes.

He paddled less as he grew older so that he could spend more time with Helena, his 7-year-old daughter, whom he recently taught to ski.

■ Lisa O'Donnell can be reached at 727-7420 or at lo'donnell@wsjournal.com.