As a kid, Craig Cylke nursed injured and sick animals.
Word spread in Gilmer County that there was a youngster in the community who liked to care for animals. They'd drop them off in boxes or call to say they'd spotted a trapped animal.
The type of animal didn't matter.
"They started bringing their coons, possums and squirrels," said Tammy Filveira, a sister-in-law who lives in Jasper. "It just got bigger."
The concept became a full-scale operation known as the Ellijay Wildlife Rehabilitation Sanctuary, a rescue, rehabilitation and release facility for indigenous animals of Georgia.
Mr. Cylke founded the family-run licensed facility, and served as its director.
On Friday, Craig "Grizzly" Cylke of Ellijay died at his home from heart failure. He was 51. The funeral was held Sunday in the chapel of Bernhardt Funeral Home in Ellijay, which handled arrangements.
Mr. Cylke was born in Maine to Edward and Charlotte Cylke (pronounced sil-kee). The family moved to Woodstock and lived there six years before buying more than 100 acres in Ellijay. He didn't attend college, but he became a certified in wildlife rehabilitation, which he made his career.
He found his calling at a tender age.
When he was nine, Mr. Cylke and his father, Edward, attended a roadside circus that featured an abused mountain lion. Young Craig wanted to buy the animal. His father plopped down $300. They brought "Hector" home, the first cougar to inhabit the 50-acre menagerie.
"He's been about animals his entire life," said Mrs. Filveira, a wildlife coordinator at the compound. "Everything about Craig was about nature. You could feel his warmth for animals and people."
Friends and relatives say Mr. Cylke disliked being hemmed up in doors. He didn't want to wear a shirt and tie and sit at a desk all day.
And because of that, Mr. Cylke was the heart of the facility, said Tim Grady of Woodstock, a senior strategist for Netmark International -- a marketing and business consulting firm that volunteers its services to the operation.
"His heart was bigger than all the outdoors," Mr. Grady said. "He was a charismatic individual and that charisma carried the wildlife sanctuary. He projected that to all he talked to."
Nearly 15 years ago, the facility became a non-profit and added educational programs. The sanctuary tried to teach the public about the balance of nature and man, and where wild animals fit in.
In 1999, an animal rights advocate was mauled at the wildlife center by a 500-pound Himalayan bear. The animal failed to respond to several tranquilizer shots. Mr. Cylke had to shoot and kill it.
For him, putting down any animal was tough, regardless of circumstances, Mrs. Filveira said.
"It was never pretty," she said. "Not at all."
Survivors include Debbie Cylke, his wife of 31 years; a son, Jonathan Cylke of Ellijay; a daughter, Racheal Cylke of Bowling Green, Ky.; a sister, Shari Miller of Harrison, Tenn.; and his father, Edward Cylke of Ellijay.
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