"A Strong Believer in Iroquois Faith, Longboats Knowledge Will Be Missed"

Thomas Longboat Jr., secretary of the Confederacy Council on the Six Nations Reserve, was buried today following a funeral service at Seneca Longhouse.

Mr. Longboat, 66, was the son of famed Canadian long-distance runner Tom Longboat, who was one of the country's most celebrated First World War athletes around the time of the First World War.

Mr. Longboat Jr. had been in hospital since late November. He died at Brantford General Hospital on Wednesday.

His wife Catherine said Mr. Longboat had a heart bypass operation in January then had complications with his lungs and kidneys.

He was moved from a London hospital to Brantford General a week before his death.

"I was by his bedside all the time," said Mrs. Longboat

"I talked to him, and in his eyes, I knew he understood."

Mrs. Longboat, who was with her husband until the final moment, said: "I didn't even bother coming home because I knew if I came home I'd get a phone call saying he was gone."

Onondaga Confederacy Chief Arnold General said Mr. Longboat "will be missed in the community because of the knowledge he carried with him."

Mr. General, who knew Mr. Longboat since the late 1940s, called him an easy-going man.

"He was always a good natured person. I never saw him get mad."

He "was a strong believer in the Iroquois faith," said Mr. General.

Mr. Longboat Jr. made headlines several years ago when he successfully encouraged the City of Toronto to pay him the money his father was promised for winning a marathon in 1907.

Mr. Longboat Sr. was promised $500 but never received the payment.

Then in 1980, the city paid his son the $500 debt plus interest which amounted to $10,000.

Friends say he had been secretary of the confederacy for about 15 years.

He is survived by his wife Catherine (Montour), and children Tarey, Thomas, Stacey, Dwayne, Landen. He is also survived by his sister Phyllis Winnie.