Life of Brevard outdoorsman to be celebrated Saturday

 How do you capture the many lives a man can pack into one lifetime?

If you’re talking about Sid Cullipher, you can talk about the time he streaked across the field during a national cricket match in Australia. Or the day he and two others snatched an alligator out of the French Broad River. Or the dramatic rappelling rescue he conducted once with the Brevard Rescue Squad.

You can also talk about his driving passion for the outdoors. Whether he was working with Outward Bound, paddling a kayak with Headwaters Outfitters, mountain climbing or communing with forest animals, Cullipher held a vast vision for a thriving global environment that he applied to the place he came to hold dear — Western North Carolina and, in particular, the glorious ruggedness of Transylvania County.

These stories and more will be retold and remembered at “Sidibration,” a party here Saturday in honor of Cullipher’s giant life and lingering spirit.

Cullipher died Nov. 10. It was a startling end to the life of a 51-year-old man with shoulder-length hair and an earring, seen by those who knew him as a strong, loving husband and father with a discerning intellect and that overriding desire to play in the woods.

“He was a superman,” said Nonnie Cullipher, Sid Cullipher’s wife. “He was an inspiring, charismatic and loving person who had an impact on a lot of people.”

Sid Cullipher began suffering debilitating headaches over the summer but wasn’t sure what was wrong. He arrived at Duke University Hospital in October for a battery of neurological testing. Doctors finally pinpointed the problem. It was gastric cancer. Eleven days after the official diagnosis, he died.

Passion for outdoors
Cullipher shone brightly during his life, according to family and friends. Danna Smith, a co-founder of the nonprofit Dogwood Alliance, which works to preserve and restore native forests in the Southeast, said Cullipher exuded an authenticity that everyone from young student activists to corporate suits could connect with.

“He was very passionate about the natural world and wanting to protect it, and he could relate to just about anybody,” Smith said.

“He could sort of fit into a lot of different circumstances,” she said.

At Headwaters Outfitters, which sits at the headwaters of the French Broad River in Rosman, Cullipher started working as a river guide and program director and eventually bought the place.

Six years ago, he and two co-workers had heard stories of an alligator living in the river they paddled. One night, they spotted the 4-year-old gator and, while a colleague collared it with a rope, Cullipher jumped into the muddy French Broad and wrestled the reptile into submission.

Cullipher said at the time that he wanted to capture the creature to save it. He turned it over to wildlife officials, who had it shipped to friendlier climes in Florida.

Allie Kozak said Cullipher was her river guide on a trip down the French Broad.

“It was just a great day, and, afterward, I made him give me a job,” Kozak said with a laugh.

Headwaters will go on, Kozak said, “but it’s definitely lonely here without him.”

She said she’s been collecting stories and photos for a party Saturday at the American Legion Hall in Brevard to celebrate Cullipher’s life and raise money to offset medical bills.

And boy are there stories. Like the time Cullipher and his wife dressed up like the notorious gangsters Bonnie and Clyde. Only Cullipher dressed as Bonnie, while his wife played Clyde.

Or the time he drove to Mississippi to deliver diapers and sanitary napkins to victims of Hurricane Katrina. Cullipher slept out of his truck but wanted to be sure people had the necessities. He ended up running a warehouse where donated goods where collected.

Or the many times Cullipher performed fire dancing. Cullipher attended the famed free-spirited Burning Man gathering in Nevada, and he helped found WNC’s version of the “burn” called Transformous.

There are more stories. It’s hard to sum up the many facets of a man. But Sid Cullipher’s family and friends will share and listen and remember Saturday.

“I would have liked to have had 30 more years with him,” Nonnie Cullipher said, “but because he was so super, he didn’t need to be infirm. And I think it would have made him angry. He just imploded like a dying star.”