He loved the outdoors.

For most of his life, camping, hiking, canoeing and experiencing life in nature were Billy Cameron’s driving forces.

Despite years of experience with various and often rugged forms of outdoor recreation, Cameron died May 20 on Tuscarora Lake in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness when the canoe he was in capsized, sending him and two of his dear and lifelong friends into the frigid waters of the deep and remote lake.

Nataly Yokhanis started dating Cameron in July 2011. A resident doctor at the Dayton (Ohio) VA Medical Center, Yokhanis told WTIP May 22 that her boyfriend died from hypothermia and drowning. He was 29.

“This has broken me at my deepest. I am shattered,” Yokhanis said. “I don’t think I’ll ever be whole again.”

Ahead of Memorial Day weekend, Yokhanis spoke with WTIP Boundary Waters Podcast host Joe Friedrichs about the loss of her boyfriend, Billy Cameron.