They say people die in threes….

They say famous people die in threes.

And while Michael Van Rooy and Chuck Green were probably best known within the confines of Winnipeg’s city limits, the city’s arts and culture community is reeling from by the recent deaths of these two icons only two days apart.

Van Rooy, a rising crime novelist, died suddenly of a heart attack on Jan. 26 while touring his latest book, A Criminal to Remember, in Montreal. He was 42.

Green, the general manager of the Osborne Village Motor Inn, passed away in his sleep on Jan. 28.

I’ve actually never met either of them, but I’ve had my own indirect dealings with them.

After reading a review of Van Rooy’s novel Your Friendly Neighbourhood Criminal in The Uniter some time ago, I almost purchased it a few months back.

It was in my hand, along with a handful of other books, but being the indecisive, stubborn reader I am, I opted not to take a chance just yet on a new author. I put it back on the shelf. After reading more accolades of his work online, I think now is the time.

And who hasn’t soaked in the sun and guzzled the beer at the Canada Day street festival in Osborne? That, I’m told, was all Green. Don’t let that overshadow the vibrancy that the Zoo and Ozzy’s also contributed to Osborne.

Now, I’m not one to believe in superstitions, but it often seems that renowned people always die in packs of threes. Let’s hope there are no more, and continue to remember the contributions Van Rooy and Green made to entertaining the city and making it a livelier place to live.