CSRPO Remembers
Bernhard LaZansky
Ted Pawlaczyk
It is with great sadness to report the death of Ted Pawlaczyk. Ted passed
into eternal glory in the afternoon of June 22, 2009 after a brief
illness.
Ted was a longtime, dedicated member of the Fort Sutter Racing Pigeon
Club. His vocabulary did not contain the word ‘No’ when it came to
spending time and energy to help others. There was never hesitation for
those in need. His quiet, gentle spirit embodied the very nature of our
feathered friends.
Ted brought his youthful excitement for racing pigeons from war torn
Europe to America; I don’t recall a time when he didn’t have birds. He
could skillfully bring his birds into super form. When he described how
he would bring them into condition, with hands gesturing one gently held,
you thought he was creating a masterpiece before your eyes. Ted did not
leave out any detail.
Ted's departure leaves a void in many aspects of our Club. He also leaves
a void in the lives of his children, Steven, Sharon, and Greg as well as
many friends. Ted was preceded in death by his loving wife, Pat.
Rest in peace, Ted.
Frank Meder, President
Bob 'The Legend' Crosbie
It is with great sadness to report the death of Bob 'The Legend' Crosbie.
Bob passed into eternal glory in the early hours of June 2, 2009.
Even though Bob was a member of the Fort Sutter Racing Pigeon Club for
only eight years, he was a force to be reckoned with then and years before
that membership. He leaves not only a legacy but also a challenge for
those who strive for excellence. For Bob, there was no halfway!
What I remember and respect most about Bob Crosbie was his willingness…no,
his eagerness to share his knowledge about and his passion for racing
pigeons. He understood his insight was not enough to beat him on race
day. It was his dedication to his charges. If we could peer into the
minds of his birds, we would find mutual admiration.
Bob's departure leaves a void in many aspects of our Sport, but in
particular the lives of Mike and Karen Kurtzner, Shanelle Case, and all
those part of that immediate family who cared for and cherished him over
these past few years. Rest in peace, Bob.
Frank Meder, President
Fort Sutter Racing Pigeon Club
Message from Joyce Stierlin
My husband Roy Stierlin passed away September 10th after a long struggle with emphysema. He was 91 years old. Thanks to the wonderful help of the Hospice folks, he was able to be in our home surrounded by our family and passed quietly. Per his wishes, the family held a private ceremony in his honor at our Irish Beach retreat. Every single member of our family attended, which was a great comfort to me. His ashes will be interred at the Newcastle Cemetery when the family again gathers privately at a later date...
With sadness we report the passing of Bob Wright, long time member of the Hayward Club, the Bay Cities Combine and was Combine Race Secretary for several years. He was 72 years old. Viewing will be held on Thursday, October 15th, between 5:00 - 8:30 pm and the funeral wil be held on Friday, October 16th, at 1:30 pm both at the Chapel of the Chimes, 32992 Mission Blvd, Hayward, CA.
It is witha heavy heart we report the passing of Henry Coors on October 15, 2009. Henry was a long time member of the Hayward Racing Pigeon Club and the Bay Cities Combine. Henry will be missed by all who knew him as a true sportsman and all around "Good Guy".
Having flown with the recently passed Jay Robbin Sparrow in the MTZ and the OHC, I can fervently attest that Jay was just “not another flyer”, but a Champion in every sense and meaning of the term.
Like fellow MTZ Member, the late Hank Vernazza, Jay possessed what can best be described as an amazing magnitude of simplicity coupled with an absolutely incredible will. Very, very, very few possess this combination which seeming verges the oxymoron.
As a Champion, Jay not only possessed the will to win with the concomitant skills of observation and fox like craftiness that such champions possess, but the desire to live. And, I say AND, a family as well as a network of friends who supported his efforts, wanted him to win, and helped him along his life’s path. They provided the net that he needed to not only survive, and to race, but to evolve as a pigeon racer. And as President Manny said to evolve to the greatest honor of all, one we all seek, to be known as “a threat in the long ones”. Jay won the six, he won the five and it all started with winning the four.
When Jay started flying, he was not the Champion that he was when he left this world. His introduction to pigeons was with rollers after he was involved in a nearly fatal automobile accident at age 19. No one thought that Jay would make it. He came home from the hospital very depressed, physically very dependent. His father remembering the little shed he had built behind the house, got an idea. Jay, he thought, needed something to live and care for. So Jay’s Dad, who grew up as a farm boy in North Dakota, picked up some rollers. Every day, they would wheel Jay up that hill, and park him in front of the loft: to watch, to smell, to hear, to Dream. As things will sometimes happen, it caught! Just so happened that his neighbor was none other than mi hermano en Christo, hard working Dan Hermasillo. Dan raced pigeons, he loved to help people. You get the idea.
Shortly after I met Jay which has to be a good twenty-five years ago, I was so impressed with Jay’s courage that I told him that I was going to make him famous. He scoffed at the notion, but famous he did become. At the time, I was into writing articles for the ARPN. So I wrote up a story with some pictures of pigeon racer Jay Sparrow, dba Rockin Robbin. A little while later, a local newspaper got hold of me and wanted to write a story on the sport of racing pigeons. I suggested that the reporter visit Jay to see if there was a story there.
The reporter visited Jay and found her story. So impressed was she that she discussed her story with one of her friends who had been at the bite to film a documentary. But just hadn’t found a subject with the potential to become nominated for an Academy Award in the under thirty minute category. She met Jay and realized the potential. After her visit, the film maker called me wanting to make a documentary on Jay flying pigeons, but didn’t have all the money she needed. I suggested that she contact the AU, who helped to support her effort.
A couple of years went by. I moved from El Sobrante, north of Richmomnd, to Santa Rosa. Raising a young family, plus being self employed, I didn’t have time for much else One day, out of the Blue, Jay calls me and invites my charming wife, Sue, and I to the opening of “his documentary”. It was shown in an artsy theater in Marin County. And there I saw Jay, in person and on the screen. But he wasn’t alone. There was the Master himself Hank Vernazza on the big screen, as well as several other outstanding Bay Area flyers.
I don’t know if this all went to Jay’s head, being with all those Champions and being interviewed like a Champion, but something happened. Through that experience there was a transmission that few get to enjoy. Jay was on his way to becoming a Champion.
I don’t recall where Jay’s original stock came from other than from Dan and former young bird great Rick Johnson, now of Cordelia, California. But I am sure that he also received birds from the guys in the MTZ club, who generosity is only exceeded by their flying skills. Probably something like this: “Hey Jay, ah I was looking at my birds the other day, and darn, I had an extra hen that was going to waste. You have any interest in trying her out? Her dad won the Combine at the six and her mother was the Club Hall of Fame winner for young birds last year”. You know what I am talking about. We have all been blessed in a similar way.
There are a couple more things that I haven’t told you. Jay’s loft was very small: 10' x 10', or so. He didn’t have room for many prisoners, and bred from his racers. He flew double widowhood. He would spend hours watching his birds, as those masters of old did.
What else? Jay had a major health issue several years ago, and had to be placed on a breathing machine. When this happened, I heard from His Mother that he gave his birds to a new flyer, who, reportedly, eventually sold them to another flyer for a tidy sum of money.
Now I know what I am forgetting. When Jay broke his neck in that automobile accident at age19, he became paralyzed. Yes, Jay was quadriplegic. And, so a hero to me. I love people who meet the challenges of their lifes head on, not running away, saying I can’t do it!
That was Jay!! The one who had to continuously move the back of his wheel chair so that he could breathe, hence the origin of the handle “Rockin Robbin”.
Rest in Peace Little Brother.
Respectfully Submitted,
Storm C. Goranson, PE, REHS
Environmental Engineering Associates, Inc.
446 Beaver Street
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
eea@sonic.net
707/575-5851
707/480-4166 (Cell)
