Tribute - Bob Svancarek
Dear Friends and classmates. Nothing like waiting to the last minute?ￂﾠfor a tribute. I'll try not to bore you and yammer to much. I arrived at PC in 7 th. grade when my folks moved from Illinois to Pomona, I attended PC until the end of my junior year. I would have started my senior year but when the principal told me I had to cut my hair in order to come back I decided it was time to attend the public school and my parents let me sign up for Pomona high school, but of course the school burned down 2 weeks before school started, so I never started my senior year until the first of Nov, when my folks moved back to Illinois. I did not want to leave Cal. and was very upset when we had to move. I had many friends at P C, George Jenkins, Jim Shea and Ken Marple, just to mention a few. George and I started to play Guitars at the beginning of our Junior year and were doing good together, another reason I did not want to leave Cal. One event that happened in my sophomore year that was life changing for me was I came down with spinal meningitis. I had the worst case in the San Bernardino county hospital and the fastest recovery. I thank God for sparing my my life then, because it allowed me to have a personal relationship with Jesus at the age of 21. When I started H S in Illinois I only needed English to graduate so my senior year was easy, Drafting class, auto shop, machine shop, woodworking shop. ?ￂﾠI started a band when I got back to Illinois. We had 2 guitars, drums, bass, saxophone and piano. We played together for a few years at H S dances and such. My chief claim to fame with this band was we got to be the opening band for the Everly Bros, in 1960. the band broke up after a few years because 2 members joined the Army and 2 got married. Several months later I started a 2nd band that lasted about 2 years. After getting married in Dec, 1962. My wife and I moved back to Cal. a year later but my wife did not like it there so we moved back to Ill.after 2 yrs. I had 3 children by my 1st wife. 2 girls and 1 boy. They are all doing well and are very successful. My son is a helicopter pilot for the Charlotte police department and my youngest daughter owns her own real estate business and my oldest daughter is a interior designer. I got into the construction business when I was 22 and pretty much remained in it until I retired at 72. I was a home builder, remodeling contractor and cabinet maker. I enjoyed my carpentry work and it was never a job to me. My first wife and I divorced after 28 years of marriage. I remarried about a year later and lived in Jacksonville,Fl for 8 years until that marriage ended. I now live in the Charlotte, N.C. area ( about 50 miles S.E. of Charlotte) on 23 acres (out in the boone docks) I have lived in N.C. for the last 22 years and have been single ever since. I am blessed to live around my loving family. Not only do I have 3 children but I have 8 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. I do play my Bass at church in the praise and worship band and I am enjoying it very much. I am sorry that I will not be attending the Last Hurrah, but I will definitely be there for the final hurrah in Heaven some day. I pray every one enjoys the last hurrah together.
Bob Svancarek (Swanni)
