01-09-2010
( Reply#: 4584 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by Joel357
Hey guys, I saw in the Hammond Times obits that Mike Rapchak Jr. died. It said that he passed away on Thursday, Jan 7, 2010.
Joel Miner
Joel:
By now you might have found the post where Larry (HassoBenSoba), his brother, told us about Mike's passing.
I'm glad you started this thread, though, because maybe Larry will use it to tell us some things about Mike. Maybe it can become sort of a "memorial" to Mike.
Tom |
01-09-2010
( Reply#: 4585 ) |
Tom J |
Here is what Larry posted about Mike's passing. I have copied it and will paste it below.
To the folks of Sheptalk-
My big brother Mike died in his sleep sometime earlier this week. I had tried to call him on Tuesday and Wednesday with no success, but was not especially concerned until I realized that I had received none of his daily e-mails either. So at 2:30 AM on Thursday (1/7), I drove to his house on Beech St in South Hammond. I said a little prayer as I approached the house, hoping that I would find his outside mail-box empty. But it wasn't---it was stuffed full. Not having a key, I called the cops, who came and entered through the back door. Mike had passed away peacefully in his sleep, with no visible signs of any illness. There will be a brief 2-hour service at La Hayne's on Southeastern Ave on Monday Jan. 11 from 3 to 5PM. He'd like that, since it's right across from the (former) train tracks where he used to spend lazy summer afternoons hanging out when he was a kid of 11 or 12.
Mike was an amazing guy that always awed me in many ways; he was very complex, but our relationship was always strong, since we grew up together with barely any other friends in our lives and had very similar interests; he was, after all, the one who introduced me to all of you guys and the Sheptalk site, encouraging me to get involved. Our bond was (is)absolutely unique, I'm sure, especially our detailed memories of our past AND our wacky "code" of verbal humor that we developed over the last 50 years. The mini-exchanges on this thread above (from Dec 30th), where we quote the Three Stooges, are just the tip of the iceberg...believe me.
At some point I may write a little tribute to him for Sheptalk; I'm sure he'd appreciate it. In the meantime, I will continue to contribute regularly, since I enjoy "spending time" with all of you. It's good for the soul, wouldn't you say?
Larry r |
01-09-2010
( Reply#: 4588 ) |
Joel357 |
Tom,
I didn't see Larry's post on here. I know how it is to lose a sibling as my sister passed away in 2003. Larry said in his post about his special bond with his brother, I had that with my sister. I enjoyed reading his posts.
Joel |
01-09-2010
( Reply#: 4589 ) |
Tom J |
Here are links to Mike's obituary and to his guest book.
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/nwitimes/obituary.aspx?n=michael-w-rapchak&pid=138314561
http://www.legacy.com/gb2/default.aspx?bookid=4892106064705&cid=full |
01-09-2010
( Reply#: 4590 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by Joel357
Tom,
I didn't see Larry's post on here. I know how it is to lose a sibling as my sister passed away in 2003. Larry said in his post about his special bond with his brother, I had that with my sister. I enjoyed reading his posts.
Joel
Sorry about your sister, Joel.
Tom |
01-10-2010
( Reply#: 4620 ) |
Jay |
Sorry to read the news about Mike.
Although I did not know him personally, I worked with his father and went to school with one of his sons.
I wish him Rest In Peace, and condolensces to his family. |
01-12-2010
( Reply#: 4688 ) |
Tom J |
Larry:
Did Mike get a good send-off? The kind he would have wanted, I mean?
I hope you will write something up on him so that we can get to know what kind of man he really was. The little that I knew about him was all good. He must have been quite a guy. He was sure an asset to Sheptalk, and we have all lost a good friend.
I didn't know what a HUGE railfan he was or how good he was at taking train pictures.
Tom |
01-18-2010
( Reply#: 4735 ) |
wefles |
I had the pleasure of speaking to him over the phone, and it turns out he lived down the street on Beech from where my wife grew up. He was also a contributor to George Elwood's fallen flags website (http://www.rr-fallenflags.org). He will be missed by many, railfan or not. He was an incredible person, and his family and friends are all the better to have known him.
Thanks for the being with us Mike, and may it be a hi-ball express to the Pearly Gates! |
01-18-2010
( Reply#: 4739 ) |
Tom J |
quote:
Originally posted by wefles
I had the pleasure of speaking to him over the phone, and it turns out he lived down the street on Beech from where my wife grew up. He was also a contributor to George Elwood's fallen flags website (http://www.rr-fallenflags.org). He will be missed by many, railfan or not. He was an incredible person, and his family and friends are all the better to have known him.
Thanks for the being with us Mike, and may it be a hi-ball express to the Pearly Gates!
Welcome to Sheptalk, Walt.
I'm a rookie railfan, and I am very sorry that I did not get the chance to know Mike better or to enjoy the hobby with him.
Tom |
01-20-2010
( Reply#: 4778 ) |
Tom J |
Man, Mike was a GREAT photographer! I feel so cheated that I did not get the chance to go trainspotting with him.
I'm sure Mike has pictures at other websites, too, but a search on Mike Rapchak, Jr., brings up 431 photos at RailPictures.net . I have only looked at a few of them so far, and they are super nice!
Tom |
01-23-2010
( Reply#: 4819 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
HERE HE IS---- my late brother, Mike Rapchak, Jr., one of the most remarkable people I have ever known.
[IMG]http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af12/HassoBenSoba/MikeR0001.jpg[/IMG]
Our relationship as brothers was great--fantastic! We grew up very close as kids--never saw the need for any other friends, since our own interests were so similar. Our dad instilled a unique sort of fantasy in us; all three of us loved the quiet nights, the stars, the lonely train whistles, etc. But Mike and I also shared a unique and wacky sense of humor...sort of a "secret code" in conversation that we used right up to the last time we spoke on the phone. It was a lexicon that combined quotes from various sources: the Three Stooges, our parents (in their less-than-controlled moments), song lyrics, old TV commericals, etc..AND--a bizarre series of audio taped comedy/fanatsies that Mike and I created and recorded between the years 1964-76; impossible to describe, but based on real-life people and encounters. In these surrealistic comedies--complete with background music, sound-effects and laugh track-- I played myself, (the narrator), and Mike portrayed about 30 different characters...ranging from the old janitor and his wife at OLPH school to Walter Brennan as TV's Amos McCoy...and his skill as a comic voice-actor was amazing! And, before the requests start pouring in...NO..these recordings are NOT available for public consumption!
Our glory years were spent in Woodmar at 6912 Magoun Avenue...from late 1954 to early 1962. How many middle-aged people do you know who can start a casual conversation with "in fall of '57 when you got those Mattel "Fanner 50's" as if it happened yesterday? "Yeah, but remember when we saw our first "Twilight Zone" in January of '60..?" That was the Rapchak boys, who treasured our old memories and what they represented. Things only started to lose the sense of special-ness in recent years, as Mike grew more intense about his life and work situation.
Another amazing thing was Mike's awesome intellect; as I was preparing my comments for his eulogy I realized the vast range of his knowledge. It started in 1957 with DINOSAURS--- he would continually check out the same 8 or 10 Dinosaur books from the Jefferson School library, which naturally got ME hooked. We were the only kids back then who knew anything about Dinosuars, as odd as that may seem today. Within a few months, the Hammond Times was in our living room to interview the area's only Dinosaur "experts." Here's the article from October 20, 1957.
[IMG]http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af12/HassoBenSoba/DinoBoys0001.jpg[/IMG]
Mike's interests continued to expand: astronomy, trains, cars, UFOs, firearms, politics, religion, history, stereo/sound technology, photography---he simply studied these topics, read everything he could get his hands on, and retained the information. Seriously, he could have become an expert in any one of these areas, but sadly lacked the basic self-confidence to pursue any of them. But even in his day-to-day work as a machinist and lathe-operator, he excelled.
Then there was his expertise in the ARTS...WHAT? Yep,that's right. In his high school freshman year he had already written a sci-fi novella which showed real promise; he was a fine visual artist who created volumes of drawings and sketches...some of them in the form of hilarious, self-lampooning comic strips (I now am the proud owner of these). He appeared ONSTAGE in two community theater productions at the Valparaiso Opera House in 1974 (the folks there loved him), and also played the trumpet and french horn while at Bishop Noll. His musical ear was something quite mysterious and fascinating; though he claimed not to be a musician, he nonetheless had an uncanny ability to get "beneath the surface" of a piece of music or a performance ---whether classical or popular. He often would point out technical details about a performance of classical music to me that I NEVER NOTICED---and I'm supposedly the professional! Whenever I would conduct an orchestral work that Mike knew, I would rush over to his place as soon as I had a recording of the concert and play it for him. He would sit, almost trance-like, and listen...then render his verdict. I can honestly say that I valued HIS opinion more than that of any of my professional colleagues.... because Mike was interested in only one thing about the performance:
its HONESTY, and whether or not the conductor and musicians understood and communicated the SPIRIT of the music. We last listened to a recording that I had conducted in mid-November.
The last picture I've posted is extremely cool. In November of 2008 I conducted a performance with the Northbrook Symphony of "The Firebird" by Stravinsky...a work which Mike and I first learned from an LP that our dad brought home in the spring of 1963. For the concert in '08, I was working with a group of high-school artists who created paintings that illustrated the story of the music (it's a great old Russian fairy-tale); their pictures were then projected onto a big-screen while the orchestra and I played the music. But for one of the sections of the music...this wild and "infernal" dance of the evil-ogre king and his retinue, the students failed to produce enough images to fill the playing-time of the music. So I thought for a moment...and then called Mike: "Do you remember that Venus Paradise pencil drawing you did of the big "Firebird" Dance back in 1963...do you still have it?" He did...and with a couple of hours of restoration, the 45-year old picture was included in the student artwork for that afternoon's concert.
Here's a photo, with a section of Mike's 1963 drawing up on the screen, taken during the rehearsal on 11/2/08; I am on the podium conducting. Mike was proud of our "brotherly" collaboration, and so am I.
[IMG]http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af12/HassoBenSoba/IMG_4247.jpg[/IMG]
As a matter of fact, I'm very proud of him in general. He was a hell of a guy, and my best friend ever.
Larry R |
01-23-2010
( Reply#: 4820 ) |
Tom J |
What a fine tribute to an extraordinary man! It is truly amazing that Mike was talented in so many different areas.
Your tribute to Mike not only gave us great insight into what a super guy he was, but you also made it very clear just how much you guys loved one another.
Oh, Larry, I am so very, very sorry for your terrible loss. I know there will never be a day when you do not think of him.
I feel that his passing is a tremendous loss for all of us here at Sheptalk. Mike made many informative and entertaining contributions to this message board. He was a good friend to all of us here.
I found that Mike joined Sheptalk on 4/3/07 and that he made 169 posts. He has the tenth highest post count among all members, but it was not just the quantity of his posts that was so impressive; it was the quality of their contents.
Since I am a new railfan, I especially feel cheated by his passing, because I know that Mike and I would have had many conversations about trains, and I would have almost certainly made the trip to Hammond to go trainspotting with him eventually. He sure has some extremely nice train pictures on the Internet, and I have only scratched the surface in viewing them. I look forward to checking out as many as I can find.
Mike and I had exchanged emails as recently as 1/5/10. I was trying to set up a time to call him to talk "trains and Region." Our friendship was just beginning when he was taken from us.
God bless, Larry. Your brother was a very special person who was loved by many and will be missed by all who knew him.
Tom
|
03-28-2010
( Reply#: 5178 ) |
SixTGunr |
Larry ...
Seeing that photo of your brother sure did put my mind to work once again and I am trying real hard to remember all that I can but am not doing very well... The more that I look at your brothers photo however tells me that I know of him more than what I can recall at this time ...
I noticed that yo mentioned 6912 Magoun and that area rings a bell as well altho I can't quite nail down anything positive yet ... My mind wants me to name a female .. I believe Sharon something ... Last name started with an "H" I think Hay"something" maybe ... on the opposite side of the street from you maybe ... I believe she had a younger brother too ...
My father (who remarried after divorcing my mother when I was two years of age) lived at 6917 Ridgeland ... From his marriage there I had a step brother and two step sisters ..they now reside in Memphis TN area ...
Six/Rick
|
03-29-2010
( Reply#: 5192 ) |
HassoBenSoba |
Six,
I bet you did know my brother Mike, since you were both at OLPH and Noll at the same time. I'll send another pic of him sometime if you want. As far as the east side of Magoun, I don't recall a Sharon; there was a pair of sisters named Sanders, one of whom was named Claudia and I think the other one was Lynne. There was the Hlad family, and I knew two boys--Randy and Rodney; they might have had an older sister Sharon that I don't remember (Hmmm..."Sharon Hlad" seems to ring a bell....). Let me know if that sounds familiar.
Larry r |
03-30-2010
( Reply#: 5200 ) |
SixTGunr |
Larry R ...
Thats it ... Hlad. I remember at least one boy there and I am pretty sure there was a young girl there as well and I believe it was a Sharon ...
She was friends with yet another female that lived in the 6800 block of Ridgeland ... her name was Debbie Haywood and her and I went steady (boy I have'nt heard that term in a long long time) for a while. I remember we used to walk over to the Hlad house where Deb would visit with her girlfriend (Sharon Hlad).
Going to ask my sister if she remembers you as I bet she will.
Do you remember any of the Kingston's ...
They lived in the 7300 block of McCook. Bobby would be your age I believe and he went to OLPH and played football for the coach who was Vic Kirsch (spelling?) ... Bobby also had a sister and a younger brother (Raymond I think). There dad worked at Standard Oil and not long after grade school let out they all moved up to St Paul Minnesota as Mr K transferred up there.
Bob Kingston became a Dentist and unless retired now was still practicing in the Minneapolis area a few years back that I remember. When I drove over the road I looked Bobby up one time while traveling through there and he worked on my teeth a time or two.
The Kingston girl was Bonnie and my age ...
Six |
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