[Mldxcc] K6RK - SK

[Ken Anderson]

The below sad news was posted on the Northern California DX Club
Reflector by past president John, K6YP.

Ken, K6TA

---------------------------------------------------------

Gentlemen,

I just received a very sad bit of news from Tom Cusack a close friend of
Chuck Patterson
K6RK. Chuck one of the true stalwarts of the DX Club passed away
peacefully in his sleep
at age 95.

When I joined the club (Steve Jones N6SJ and I joined the same day) a
group of 8 or so folks
met monthly at Harry's Hoffbrau in Redwood City. Among this group was Ron
Panton W6VG (SK),
Doug Westover W6JD (SK), Jack Troster W6ISQ, Dewey Churchill KG6AM, Mike
and Carolyn
Gavin W6WZ and WB6ABC, Dick Letrich W6KM and of course Chuck Patterson
K6RK. (If
I have inadvertently left anyone out I apologize. My memory is not as
sharp as it was.)

There was often not a presentation, just a gabfest and dinner. Steve and
I knew a little about
the club's proud history. On the way down to Visalia that year we decided
that it was well worth
the effort to see if we could re-invigorate the club. One guy that
immediately offered to help was
Chuck Patterson K6RK. I believe that Chuck, then well over 80. went out
and purchased a
digital projector so that we could have presentations and when we did not
have a talk we
showed a James Brooks DXpedition video. I remember that one time Chuck
saved us by
bringing his own copy of the A52A Bhutan video to what would have
otherwise been a dull
meeting. What made his efforts even more out of the ordinary was that
Chuck drove all the
way from his home in Lafayette to Redwood City to attend both regular and
board meetings.
Some of my very fondest memories of Chuck was him calmly but firmly
telling a fellow board
member to stop blathering on and use some common sense. Chuck may have
been just a little
short of parliamentary procedure but he had plenty of common sense. We
needed that!

Chuck was truly dedicated to the well being of NCDXC. He served many
times as an officer of the club
holding most if not all the officer slots and on the board. He gave
presentations including a great one on
160 meter antennas and DXing. One of his favorite activities was 160
meter DXing. He held Number One
Honor Roll with a bunch of deleted entities, so 160 meters DXing was just
another challenge. I
do not remember his 160 meter totals but they were impressive. He met
with a group of his buddies every
night on 160 SSB. I loaded up the outer conductor of my coax and worked
him one evening for my only 160
meter QSO ever. One of the best things that Chuck brought was history. He
would often talk about the
DXpeditions of NCDXC members Lolyd and Iris Colvin, or the Yasme
DXpeditions of Danny Weil. He was of
that era, the golden age of DXing. At one of the last meetings that Chuck
attended we celebrated his 90th Birthday.
He also attended Visalia that year at age 90.At age 90 Chuck was the
consummate DXer, sharp as a tack, and
always had a twinkle in his eye.

Chuck was also a great teacher. He was certainly my mentor. From him I
learned what DXing was all about
and how it was done. I appreciate every hour he spent with me because
each was a true learning experience.

We have lost one of the really great ones.......Good DX and rest well my
friend.

John K6YP

Tom If you could forward this note to Chuck's son I would appreciate it.
I do not have his email.





-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Cusack <tom at acmebirdseed.com>
To: jeisenb558 <jeisenb558 at aol.com>
Sent: Thu, May 31, 2012 11:41 am
Subject: Silent key


Hello John,
Just wanted you to know Chuck passed in his sleep on May 19th.  He was
95.  He
fell off his bicycle and broke his hip which was then replaced with
success and
was released from rehab.  to return to the Stratford (his living
community).
Shortly thereafter he fell again and broke the bone that the new hip had
been
inserted into.  It was decided that nothing could be done at this point
and the
downward spiral began with hospice involvement.  He was always
comfortable and
never in pain.
At present the family is not planning a memorial.  I'll keep you posted
if any
changes are made in that department.  I will also give you a heads up
when the
gear goes up for sale.  We now have an inventory and are taking pictures to
create a listing.  Expect to hear from me sometime in July on this front.
73,
Tom
Tom Cusack
tom at acmebirdseed.com






Tom Cusack
tom at acmebirdseed.com
_______________________________________________
Chat mailing list
Chat at ncdxc.org
http://mail.ncdxc.org/mailman/listinfo/chat_ncdxc.org