Honoring our departed members
Constance Barsky, WD8ODC
After a seven year battle with ovarian cancer, Constance Barsky, WD8ODC, passed away Saturday, August 12, at the Skilled Nursing wing of Otterbein SeniorLife retirement community in Granville, Ohio. Connie was the wife of Steven Katz, N8WL, and was first licensed in 1976 as WB0YPZ in Columbia, Missouri, shortly after the couple was married. When they moved to Ohio in 1977, she was assigned WD8ODC, a call she held until her death. Since she had passed the Morse code exam as a Novice, and the General written exam as a Technician, when the FCC eliminated the code test, she was "grandmothered" as a General class operator.
Constance joined the Newark (Ohio) Amateur Radio Association in 1977 and was active in public service events and ARES. She was active in mobile operating on the 2M repeaters during her commute. She was active in HF operating and logging for Field Day, contexts, chasing DX, and rag chewing in the 2000s. She became a member of the Harvard Wireless Club in 2002, the Columbus (Ohio) Radio Enthusiasts Society (CRES) and the Central Ohio Operators Klub. She accompanied Steve on many portable operations for Ohio State Parks on the Air (OSPOTA) and the Ohio QSO Party and enjoyed camping and setting up portable antennas. During the 12 years she was elected to serve on Granville's Village Council, she was pleased to be worth 100 bonus points for local clubs on Field Day! For many years she accompanied Steve to the Four Days in May QRP event, and the Dayton Hamvention. She enjoyed several ARRL National Conventions and was a member of the Wouff Hong Society. Constance was generous with her money as well as her time, and supported ARRL from the beginning of her ham career, soon becoming a life member, a Diamond Club member, and, most proudly of all, being inducted with Steve into the Maxim Society. She was kind, fair, and very bright, and the world is a better place because of her. She will be missed. Obituary
Rod England, KB8LSG
Rod England (KB8LSG) lost his fight with cancer. Rod had been an active with the Newark Amateur Radio Association in years past. Rod will be missed.
John Cochrane, W8QQ
John Cochrane W8QQ died of congestive heart failure at his home on Friday morning, March 14, 2003. He was 81. First licensed in 1936 at the age of 15 in Brookline, MA, he was an avid ham all his life. He graduated from Harvard University in 1943 and joined the Navy to serve in the Pacific in WWII. He was instrumental in pioneering the use of early shipboard radar and was proud of his contribution to winning the War. After the war he married his wife Ann, and became a petroleum geologist. They had two children, John Jr. and Susan. John and Ann lived in Oklahoma for a while, and he was later a consulting geologist for a time in Peru, where he was active as OA1E, and also in Greece (but couldn't get permission to operate there). He and his family finally settled in Granville, Ohio, where he became W8ILH and ran his own oil and gas company, Jonsu, which he fondly named after his children. He was active in public service events and a persistent DXer, reaching the DXCC Honor Roll and working DXCC on 7 bands, but his proudest achievement was upgrading to Extra Class at age 78 and becoming W8QQ! He was always a gentleman and role model on the air, usually present in the morning Medicare Net on the 2-meter repeater in Lancaster, Ohio, and participating in the Old Codgers' Nets daily on 20 and 40 meters. He loved to tinker with homebrew and commercial ham gear, experiment with antennas, and operated a very respectable home station. He also loved to operate mobile from his car. John was the kind of Amateur Radio operator who was loved and respected by all who knew him.
Randolph "Randy" (Shag) Smith, N8KBE
Randy died Thursday September 16, 2010 at Genesis Hospital in Zanesville. He was 68. Randy was a firefighter and EMT with the Hanover Volunteer Fire Dept., a member of the IBA, Pirate Radio Club, Trustee for Newark Amateur Radio Association (NARA), NRA, and a Vice Commodore of the Coast Guard Auxiliary Post # 184. He loved to ride motorcycles as he was a Harley-Davidson enthusiast, and enjoyed amateur radio. He will be sadly missed by all that knew him. Obituary
Roy G. Bentley, WD8RBB
Roy died on Monday, November 07, 2011, at the age of 79. He was born October 3, 1932 in Neon, Kentucky. Roy was a Korean War veteran who served in the United States Army. He was an Air Force Civilian employee at the former Newark AFB. He worked in many high technology areas including RF & Microwave and DC & Low Frequency measurements within the Air Force Primary Standard Laboratories prior to his retirement. He enjoyed showing up at NARA Field Day and joined in the many discussions. He had served as a Trustee of NARA. He will be missed. Obituary
Dr. Henry Hook, KD8QA
Dr. Hook died in his sleep at his home in Newark on Saturday, February 1, 2014. At the mid-turn of the last century, electronics became strikingly important in the fields of pulmonary and cardiac medicine and Dr. Hook began studying this field as it applied to his practice of medicine. From this interest came the stimulus to become licensed in the field of radio communication. He earned his Eagle Scout award in 1941, was on the camp staff of Camp Falling Rock, and attended the first National Scout Jamboree in Washington, D.C. in 1937. Henry's wish was to have his amateur radio station KD8QA setup for use at Camp Falling Rock for use by Scouts into the future. He will be missed by all that knew him. Obituary
Howard R. Watts, Jr., AB8LW
Howard died peacefully Saturday April 18, 2015, at his home, surrounded by family. He was born January 24, 1924, in the home, to the late Howard R. and Ada D. Watts. He retired from Newark Air Force Base in 1984 after 36 years with The United States Government. Howard was a Past Master Mason of his Lodge 32nd Degree York Cross of Honor. He was also an avid Ham Radio Enthusiast. Howard home-brewed many ham radio projects including a Six Meter 5-element Yagi still in use at one of his many friend's amateur radio stations. He will be missed by everyone who knew him. Obituary
Philip Z. Shannon - KA8H
Mr. Shannon passed away Sunday, August 28, 2016 at his residence. He was born June 20, 1935 in Newark, Ohio. Phil was a 1953 graduate of Newark High School. He was a graduate of Ohio University. He spent ten years with the Air National Guard and was discharged in 1967 as a Lieutenant. Phil most loved hobbies included his love for fishing with family and friends at Lake Erie and amateur radios. He was a member of the Newark Amateur Radio Operators Club and held an Amateur Extra Class License - KA8H. He will be missed by all who knew him. Obituary
Peter J. Rehner KB8RJU
Peter was a long time member of NARA and the publisher of the NARA Ham Chatter Newsletter. Obituary
Submitted by Steve - KA8HKC
Robin Thompson KB8RJT
Robin passed away Tuesday, 3 September 2019. Robin was a long-time supporter of local hams, especially of the Newark ARA, where she served many years as Treasurer and as an active member. We all will treasure our memory of her lovely personality and absolute dedication to friends and associates. Obituary
Arthur Thomas Mauller (Tom) W8TNI
Tom passed away on February 23, 2020. Tom, otherwise known as, W8TNI, and formerly, KC8CSQ, had been active with the Newark Amateur Radio Association serving as an Officer and Net Control Operator for weekly radio nets. He enjoyed the annual Field Day event. He will be missed by all who knew him. Obituary
Charles (Cjazz) Cohen K8RNM
Cjazz died on September 27, 2020 after a lengthy stay in a health care unit near Licking Memorial Hospital following a medical event that required hospitalization. Cjazz had been active on the radio for many years and with the in-person meetings of NARA for the past three years. You may have also known him from his days at Radio Shack and at Newark AFS. We will miss his lively discussions. Obituary
Billie Jean Tender N8LEL
Billie died on December 23, 2020 at OSU Hospital while in the care of Hospice of Central Ohio after complications from surgery. She worked for 57 years as a nurse and retired in 2020. She was married to Fritz Tender WD8E for 29 years. She provided support on many occassions for amateur radio activities. We will miss her. Obituary
Douglas Wright KD8EIK
Douglas passed away on 11 July 2021 at his home. He had retired from Owens Corning Fiberglas after 39 years and had worked many years on the side as an Electrician. He was a Volunteer Firemen for Mary Ann Township since 1973; getting his start as a Fireman at Granville FD when he was 16 years of age. Soon after high school he enlisted in the Army where he served 9 years as a Radio Repairman. Douglas passed his Technician Class License test on 23 September 2006 and became an active Amateur Radio Operator. In the years that followed, he served two terms as a Trustee for NARA and was active in Licking County ARES. He enjoyed the annual Field Day event where he provided the services of his generator for several years. He will be missed for his many positive contributions on and off the air. Obituary
