Sadly, Vic, N4TO passed away last Friday at the age of 65 of apparent heart
failure at home.
Vic will be deeply missed by the contesting, DXing and FOC communities. He
was also the President of the local chapter of his motorcycle club, a hobby he
took up less than 10 years ago.
His central Florida station was very well equipped, with 4-stacks on 10 and
15 and 2-stacks on 20 & 40. His 80M 4-square was damaged by a hurricane a few
years ago and not replaced.
Vic hosted numerous multi-ops over the past 10 years as well, including two
Multi-Multi efforts for CQWW SSB, several M/2 for ARRL SSB, many Multi-Singles
for ARRL 10 and even a 2-station M/S effort for SS CW. The cumulative list of
operators that Vic hosted is quite formidable.
Vic and I operated 4 Florida QSO Parties using his mobile setup. We almost
broke 3000 QSOs a few years ago, using hand keying and logging, and with a
chirpy signal to boot.
I had the privilege of being on three successful, record-setting CQ WW CW
contest-peditions with Vic in the last 10 years. We went with K4BAI to 8P in
1999 and PJ4 in 2006, then with AD4Z, N4GI and K8NZ to HI3 in 2007.
Vic also went away for SS CW in 1982, operating from Pedro, NP4A's place and
finishing 2nd overall, I believe.
Vic had a large hand in increasing the Florida Contest Group membership
rolls. In the late 1990s, there was a splinter group formed called the Florida
Contest Club, of which Vic was a member. He hosted annual summer picnics,
later
dubbed the Vicnic, and bridged the gap between the clubs by inviting several
of us FCGers to his picnic. Subsequently, the Vicnics grew and grew and we had
almost 100 attendees at the final Vicnic in the summer of 2005.
Several of us re-installed Vic's 20-Meter stack in April 2007. Vic's stated
goal was to work Scarborough for his last all-time new one and to regain Top
of the Honor Roll status. However, he missed it by being out to breakfast when
the best opening to FL occurred.
Vic was a long-time member of the FOC and traveled often to England to attend
FOC functions. He stayed with G4BUE and M0BUE on these visits and used the
trips as an opportunity to visit many other FOCers/DXers/Contesters in
different parts of England and Scotland.
There are many examples of Vic's kindness. I recall reading about one south
Florida DXer many years ago who needed an amplifier to work a new one. Vic
carted his amplifier over to that fellow's house just so he could make the QSO.
Vic helped me out on countless occasions with last-minute equipment and tower
ground help, despite living over an hour away.
After many of the tower work days at his QTH, we would go to the local
"Watering Hole" restaurant and chow down on fantastic "Cowboy" steaks, the best
I've
eaten anywhere. He fondly recalled rubbing elbows with Paul Newman who raced
at the nearby Sebring Raceway and loved that same restaurant. Vic
volunteered at the Sebring races, yet another of his contributions.
He loved his Miami Dolphins and Univ. of Miami Hurricanes football and was
glued to the lounger on Saturdays and Sundays during football season.
Vic and I shared a love for baseball as well and attended a wide variety of
games over the years. We were actively planning our next visit to see the
Marlins this year. He loved to tell the story of facing a young Steve Carlton
while both were in the Miami school system. We attended and thoroughly enjoyed
a
Dominican Winter League game last November, courtesy of host HI3CCP.
Vic had triple-bypass surgery 2.5 years ago and had other chronic health
challenges, yet he persevered and made the most of it. Vic leaves a sister and
brother-in-law in Miami, and a brother in HP. Vic was born in the Panama Canal
Zone and served as an officer in the US Coast Guard. He retired to Sebring in
1991 after a career in financial services.
Rest in peace, dear friend.
vy 73, Dan, K1TO
--------------
Here is a partial list of the operations that Vic hosted, or was a part of:
1970 – PJ0FC – CQWW CW - Vic K4SHB, W2TA, K4BAI, W4BRB, W4KFC, K4BVD/6,
PA0VDV, W4DQS, W4GF
1974 – 6Y5BF - CQWWCW – Vic K4SHB, Dale W4DQS
1978 – HH2CQ - CQWWCW – N4TO with W4ORT, W4QM, WA4DRU, W2SR, N4XR
1979 - HH2MC - CQWWCW – N4TO with WB4OSN, W4QM, others unknown
1998 – VP5M - CQWWCW
1998 – VP5M ARRL DX CW
1999 – 8P9Z – CQWW CW M/S with K1TO and K4BAI
1999 – KG4TO DXpedition only with N4OO
2000 - N4TO – CQWW SSB M/M with AE4RO, AE4SW, K1TO, K1KNQ, K4LQ, K5KG, KT3T,
W4IR
2001 – N4TO – CQWW SSB M/M with NS4W, AE4SW, N2NL, K1TO, WD4AHZ, K5KG, N4KM
2002 – N4TO – ARRL DX SSB M/2 with N4DL, K1TO, T93Y, T93M
2002 - N4TO/M FQP Ran 44 counties with K1TO
2003 - N4TO/M FQP Ran 44 counties with K1TO
2004 – N4TO/M FQP Ran 44 counties with K1TO
2005 – N4TO/M FQP Ran 44 counties with K1TO
2006 – PJ4A - CQWW CW M/S with K1TO and K4BAI
2007 – HI3A – CQWW CW M/2 at HI3CCP with AD4Z/HI3A, K1TO, K8NZ, N4GI
Many thanks to Fred, K4LQ for doing research to assemble this post.
**************
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