‘We were more than friends, we were family’

A husband and wife killed in a highway collision north of Selkirk on Saturday afternoon were stalwart members of Winnipeg’s motorcycle community who died doing what they loved.

Friends and relatives identified the victims as Dan Keats, 65, and Brenda Lee, 65. The married couple, both from Winnipeg, were members of the Winnipeg Harley Riders Association and were heading to South Beach Casino with a convoy of other motorcyclists on the day of the crash.

It was intended to be the third and final stop of a poker derby event, said Robert Zirk, a close friend of the couple and the association’s road captain.

“They were inseparable. Just the way they were with each other, you could see the love,” Zirk said in an interview Monday.

“They were the kindest, gentlest individuals.… We were more than friends; we were family.”

The collision occurred at about 1 p.m., when the group of 75 riders travelling north on Breezy Point Road were turning left onto Provincial Road 320 to access the bridge across the Red River on Highway 4. Keats, who was driving his motorcycle with Brenda on the back, was completing the turn when they were struck by a southbound pickup truck.

RCMP said both died at the scene.

The driver of the pickup truck, a 26-year-old man from the RM of St. Andrews, was not injured. The investigation is ongoing, police said.

Zirk, who was riding beside them at the time of the crash, phoned for an ambulance and contacted Brenda’s son Jason Lee, 41, and her daughter Chery Lee, 45.

The siblings said there were few things their mother and step-father loved more than riding motorcycles and spending time with their seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

“That was their life,” Jason said.

The association was founded in 1983, and currently has about 40 riders. Keats and Brenda were among the longest-serving members of the club; they were each involved for more than 30 years, Zirk said.

“The primary reason that the association is still around and together is because of their devotion,” he said.

At the time of their deaths, Keats had been serving as the club’s treasurer for roughly a decade and Brenda was the members co-ordinator. While she did not technically hold an executive title, it was clear Brenda was the lifeblood of the organization, Zirk said.

She had worked as an executive assistant for accounting firm Pope and Brookes, which gave her the experience to help Keats with the club’s financial books.

She earned the nickname “Stitch” from members of the club, who relied on her to design and sew club patches onto their vests. She also planned holiday parties for Halloween and Christmas, and an annual awards night, Zirk said.

Members would be honoured with the “hard luck” award if their bike broke down and needed an expensive fix, or earn the “training wheels” award if they dropped their motorcycle. Keats, who had been a motorcyclist since his teenage years, was recognized multiple times for riding more kilometres than any other member in a single season, Zirk said.

The pair met in 1994, after a friend of Keats introduced them. Brenda quickly adopted his passion for motorcycles and joined the association. They would have celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary next weekend, coinciding with another annual ride with their club members, Chery said.

Jason remembered Keats as a “laid back” and relentlessly kind man. He made his career working for the Canadian National Railway and spent his free time riding, talking about or working on his motorcycle — sometimes dismantling parts and taking them into his Transcona living room to work on them.

Brenda had a reputation for being outspoken and unabashed. She was loyal, selfless and maternal, her daughter said.

“She put on a very tough exterior, but she had such a heart of gold,” Chery said.

“I talked to my mom about everything. Every personal detail of my life, she knew every single little thing. She was my person.”

The association was slated to hold an executive meeting Monday night to discuss how to move forward following the crash. A second meeting with general members is scheduled Tuesday.

“We’re going to come up with a date and a time, and we will be doing a memorial ride. That’s for sure,” Zirk said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca