Reggie was a 100 year old active Ham. He would have been 101 in Dec. 2002, the month he passed on.
This man has seen it all. WOW! To live to be a 100 years old and as sharp as Reggie was up until the day he passed…..He was active on a daily basis on HF and 2 meters. What a treat it was to talk to him on the air!
I had the pleasure to visit Reggie at his home when I lived in Spokane. He LOVED to talk about the "old days" and could he ever talk about them! What it must have been like to live through those times! To see all the advances in technology that he saw! What a wonderful thing... Some of the old magazines and catalogs that he still had that depicted what radio was as it was being invented were interesting indeed!
Did you know that he was actually on the Titanic? Reggie, his mother and his baby sister boarded the ship. When the immigration authorities found that his sister did not have the proper paperwork in order, they were whisked off the ship and it set sail without them! I could only imagine!
Reggie was a TRUE ham! He still had his original spark gap transmitter that he constructed when he was a young amateur. And they still worked and he could demonstrate them as to how the were used how they worked and how he had to scrounge the parts to build them!
He was still active on HF and 2 meters as well.
As I’m typing this, a lamp that Reggie built out of an old large vacuum tube with my callsign on the oak base lights my keyboard. I will cherish it forever as a special gift from a very special man.
Reggie lived by himself with his faithful companion Bobby. Bobby the dog was even featured on one of his QSL cards. If he didn’t have that faithful dog around, Reggie would not have lived as long as he did!
I and many others will miss you very much.
73 Old Man and May God be with you!
Jim W7RY
Thanks for that interesting contribution, Jim. You will be interested to know that Reggie joined a 2 meter net just before Thanksgiving. He was obviously distraught. His last true love, his dog Bobby, had developed an illness and had to be put to sleep. Reggie had told many friends that he didn't think he would be able to survive the passing of that dog. As it turns out, Reggie did not recover from this final heartbreak and entered the hospital shortly thereafter.
I did not know Reggie well, but as chairman of the Spokane Hamfest I became aware of his presence in the amateur community. He let it be known that he felt that anyone over 95 should be able to attend the Hamfest for free! We enjoyed a good laugh over this, and so our annual Hamfest was free of charge to those under 16 and over 95! Reggie is now gone, but in his honor, I think we will keep the policy intact. I would enjoy hearing any other stories about this fine man.
I was born in Looe in cornwall.He was my grandmothers brother i.e my great uncle. I wonder if you new this. I dont have much info. but he would still have plenty of descendents in Looe. My name is Carlton.
Regie was the oldest Ham in the Spokane
area I met him at the Spokane Hamfest
here in Spokane and he was a fine man.
Anyone who met, and had conversations with
Regie, was a blessed person.
He was a extreme book of knowledge in addition to being a very fine man.
He could talk your leg off, but it was worth it.