Sharing this anecdote from Garnet Rogers on Facebook:

"Very saddened today to learn of the death of my old friend Chopper McKinnon...I wonder how many people across Canada are posting much the same words?..He was one of the kindest and gentlest and funniest people I have known...sweet and humble and ever generous both with his time and support, and his single malt.He sold me my first guitar back in the 70's when he was running the Toronto Folklore center..he saw that I needed (or tought I needed a professional quality instrument and he took me upstairs to show me a factory second half price Larrivee, which I played all my years on the road with Stan...and long after.

Chopper had little use for meaness and pretension..One of my favourite memories of him was the morning we were sipping coffee backstage at the VancouverFolk Festival, and the male co-host of CBC's Touch th Earth swept into our midst...he was ..how can I put this kindly?...a douchebag...a nasty bit of business who delighted in flaunting his relative wealth in front of us poor wretched folkies, and who never lost a chance to make sport of us...(god knows why he was on a folk programme)...anyway...this morning he was a vision of loveliness...he was wearing knee high leather boots...a thigh length leather cape, all topped by a wide brimmed leather hat...he was carrying a matching leather brief case and looked like a cross between Pierre Trudeau and Quentin Crisp...He paused dramatically in the door to give us all the full effect of his ensemble, and then strode manfully over to a table and snapped the locks on his attache case...Chopper called out..."Oh Look everybody...It's the Accountant of Monte Cristo!"..Our hero turned red, closed the case, and whirled and swept out of the tent to gales of derisive laughter...Chopper had that well known and well loved quiet smile ...as if to say.."aw shucks..it was nothin'..."
I'm going to miss that boy"