RIP W1JZ

[Carl WA1KPD]

Great guy and a lot of fun. Nearfest will not be the same without him there.

Michael R. Samarco, 76
Michael was born in Newton, the last surviving of three sons of the late Michael A. and Margaret (Tierney) Samarco, and was a graduate of Newton High School. He loved his job as a union carpenter and supervisor with Local 275 in Newton for 52 years. He lived in Bellingham before coming to Upton in 1979 and had served with the Air National Guard.
An amateur radio enthusiast since the age of 11, he contacted every country in the world over the past 64 years, including North Korea, using the call letters WIJZ. Many weekends he was involved in amateur radio contests. He was a member of the Cardigan Welsh Corgi Club of America (CWCAA) and was devoted to his dogs, who were all AKC champions.
Michael was an avid runner. He ran sometimes as much as 25 to 40 miles a week at the Valley Tech track after working eight hours. He also cut 12 to 15 cords of wood from his property for 33 years and drove his motor home across country many times sightseeing landmarks. A very caring man, he was always willing to go an extra mile to help homeowners with improvements.
In addition to his loving wife, he leaves two sons, James and Matthew of Upton; a daughter Laurie Young of Bellingham; and two grandchildren, Stacy Smith of RI and Timothy Young of Framingham.
Following cremation, memorial calling hours will be held at Williams-Pedersen Funeral Home, 45 Main Street, Upton from 9 to 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 6th. Burial will follow in Lakeview Cemetery.

[K1JJ]

Sad to hear this news.

I knew Mike from the mid 90's when he joined us building PissWeaker rigs. He was a jokester and always a lot of fun. We visited his shack and saw some of his homebrew amplifiers. He had a 4-1000A linear that was a true work of art. He was a craftsman of wood, metal and electronics.

We will miss hearing him on 75M AM. Time marches on.... sigh.

RIP, Mike.

Tom, K1JJ

[KB1IAW]

Sad news. I always enjoyed chatting with Mike on 75m and at Nearfest. We had cabinet building and remodeling in common and I liked hearing about his show dogs.

[W1DAN]

Folks:

Very sorry to hear this. Last saw him at Near-Fest a couple of years ago. Had a nice QTH and shack. We enjoyed talking on many subjects. He build his own copy of a Collins big-rig.

Dan

[W3GMS]

I had heard of Mike over the years but sadly never ran into him either on the air or at NEAR-Fest.  I probably walked past him many times at NEAR-Fest but never realized who he was. 

Years go, even going back to Hoss Traders, we use to have an AM group picture.  That may be good to do again. 

Our sympathies go out to his family and friends.

Joe-W3GMS   

[W1RC]

I am also,saddened to hear of Mike's passing. He truly loved NEAR-Fest and was its biggest fan and supporter.

MrMike, W1RC

[KC2FXE]

  R I P mike it was my honor to know you and be  a friend

[W2PFY]

RIP Mike! When I lived in MA I found out that he had an old Raytheon 250 watt BC transmitter that was in bad exterior condition. I called about it and he said if I wanted it, I could have it. I thought that was very nice of him but for a reason that I cannot remember, I couldn't take it. He later parted it out and had the mod xformer and reactor for sale at Nearfest. I don't know if it sold? I think he liked Collins gear too?

He was quite active in the early part of this century but I lost track of his activity after 2007 when I became a part timer on the bands.

Again, RIP Mike! 

 

[N5RLR]

My sincerest condolences. †