Jannik Svend Von Rosenvinge ’68
Jannik Svend Von Rosenvinge ’68 died in the company of friends and family on September 2, 2011, in the home he built on Waldron Island, Washington. Nik grew up in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and attended Hebron (Maine) Academy. He left Dartmouth after six months, and moved on to a life as a logger, rigger and fisherman, living off the grid. He refused the military draft due to his moral opposition to the Vietnam War, and instead served in the federal VISTA program in Alaska, living in an Athabaskan Indian village. He felt those two years were among the most important in his life. He later worked as a salmon seiner and logger in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. He returned to Gloucester, fishing for swordfish and mackerel, and later began a business as “Nik the Rigger.” The lure of the San Juan Islands in Washington brought him and his family back to Washington, where he worked in the salmon industry during the past 20 years. When he wasn’t fishing Nik traveled extensively, visiting old friends and making new ones. In the off-season he smoked salmon in the traditional method. He pursued woodcarving, crafting bows, bowls and sculptures inspired by the natural world. Throughout his life Nik remained passionate about natural science and dedicated to educating children about its intricacies and wonders. He is survived by his wife, Janie, children Thorkild and Annika and siblings Tycho, Christain, Seffaen, Trina and Deborah.
