What a way to go falling off a roof after countless miles of cycling all over North America.
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Published November 01, 2007 11:15 pm - A Schroon artisan and long-distance cyclist died when he fell from a chimney he was building.
Schroon craftsman dies in fall
Schroon craftsman, cyclist was working in Warrensburg
By LOHR McKINSTRY
Staff Writer
SCHROON LAKE -- A Schroon Lake man fell to his death Wednesday while building a custom stone chimney on a house in Warrensburg.
Lance Gregson, 43, of Charley Hill Road was working on the 36-foot-high chimney when he fell, authorities said.
Gregson was a self-employed stone mason who designed and built unique stone fireplaces. He was also a life coach and an avid bicyclist who competed in races.
"He was a really nice guy," Schroon Town Supervisor Cathy Moses said Thursday. "He was an admirer of Lance Armstrong."
Armstrong is the former Olympic cyclist and Tour de France winner who was once the No. 1-ranked cyclist in the world. Gregson knew Armstrong and had ridden with him in Armstrong's native state of Texas.
In 2006, Gregson rode his bicycle through the Canadian Rockies from Vancouver to Calgary, an 804-mile, 10-day journey, to raise money to combat cystic fibrosis.
Gregson's wife, Anne, is an art teacher at Schroon Lake Central School. Moses said his family members are musicians, artisans and craftspeople.
"The whole family is very artistic. It's a tragic loss to our community. The whole community has been turned upside down."
Gregson was a graduate of Coach University in Andover, Kansas, and held both personal and professional coaching certificates. He specialized in "breakaway coaching," helping people decide what they want from life, then setting goals and making plans to achieve that.
Gregson had been building stone fireplaces and chimneys for the past 20 years. His work was revered as one of a kind, Moses said, and his death is a terrible tragedy for everyone who knew him.
"It was just such a shock. It's very, very sad."
lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com