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THE shock death of Tim Levesque has stunned his hometown of Yarrawonga.
Former workmate and his successor as Mulwala Water Ski Club chief executive officer Peter Duncan had the unenviable task of informing staff and members of Mr Levesque's passing early on Wednesday.
Mr Levesque joined the ski club as assistant manager after working at one of the town's other major licensed clubs, Yarrawonga and Border Golf Club, as operations manager for more than a decade.
Two years later he was appointed chief executive before landing the same job at the SS&A Club in Albury in late 2009.
Mr Duncan worked alongside Mr Levesque for a decade and said news of his death had hit the Yarrawonga-Mulwala communities hard.
He was very family orientated and that is the really sad part about what has happened
- Peter Duncan
"He was a good fellow and a good family man," Mr Duncan said.
"He was very family orientated and that is the really sad part about what has happened.
"Our members didn't understand how serious the situation really was and thought he would pull through."
Mr Duncan said his predecessor was the driving force behind some of the biggest redevelopments in the club's recent history.
A $7 million expansion began in late 2007 and Mr Levesque also introduced an extreme sports expo which attracts crowds of more than 6000 people to the club located on the banks of Lake Mulwala.
"He was a large part of that no question," Mr Duncan said.
"He is well known and well thought of here."
Mr Levesque has worked in the licensed club industry on the Murray River for 28 years.
Rob Purtle was president of the ski club when Mr Levesque was appointed Bob Wighton's replacement as chief executive in 2002.
"He had a lot of vision for the club to go ahead," Mr Purtle said.
"I sensed early on he was going to go a long way and it is exactly what he did do.
"He was a real forward thinker and what has happened is so sad."
In his final year at the ski club its annual turnover hit the $10 million mark for the first time since opening in 1983 and almost a decade before the introduction of poker machines in Victoria.
Mr Levesque was appointed the SS&A Club chief executive from a field of 45 applicants and a short-list of nine candidates to replace Andrew Terry.
Mr Levesque's parents John and Cath operate a petrol station in Benalla Road, Yarrawonga.
He attended Sacred Heart College along with his three brothers, James, Ben and Matthew.
His wife Kym is also from Yarrawonga.
