With great sadness a text came today. My very dear old friend, Bob Pischel, passed away today. Our history together goes back to the late 70's when we met through his daughter and son-in-law. We were embraced by his whole family and enjoyed holidays, special events, birthdays and much more with him. He was my roommate on our annual trips to Las Vegas with his sons and son in laws. We even made a special trip together staying at Caesars Palace at a comped room he acquired. I was threatened by his daughters about taking care of him as he was using a motorized scooter by then. Must have done o.k. as no repercussions. We both loved playing Omaha high low split and sat together at the poker tables for many many hours. Whenever I would call him, the first thing he would ask was " tell me your bad beat story". By golly, I never disappointed him on that.
He was always keenly interested in what was happening in my life, and remembered all the details. An amazing man with a history in business that was unbelivable. He loved to recount stories about selling (He owned the largest yearbook company West of the Mississippi), and taught me many lessons, both personal and business. His generosity was a lesson in itself, at times of need he was always there. I went through some tough times, even loaning me a car for several months. When I would visit the Tri-Cities, a room was always available. A meal was also included, sometimes if you were lucky he would make his specialty pork tenderloin sandwiches. I still use his recipe for donut balls that he gave me, along with a show and tell session to make sure I got it right. I could go on and on about Bob, but just know that there is a big hole in my heart right now.
This is my favorite picture of Bob, taken on one of our Vegas trips. I like to remember him like this, big chip stack in front of him, focused on his cards. I had this picture on my bookcase in our living room for many years.
He was always keenly interested in what was happening in my life, and remembered all the details. An amazing man with a history in business that was unbelivable. He loved to recount stories about selling (He owned the largest yearbook company West of the Mississippi), and taught me many lessons, both personal and business. His generosity was a lesson in itself, at times of need he was always there. I went through some tough times, even loaning me a car for several months. When I would visit the Tri-Cities, a room was always available. A meal was also included, sometimes if you were lucky he would make his specialty pork tenderloin sandwiches. I still use his recipe for donut balls that he gave me, along with a show and tell session to make sure I got it right. I could go on and on about Bob, but just know that there is a big hole in my heart right now.
This is my favorite picture of Bob, taken on one of our Vegas trips. I like to remember him like this, big chip stack in front of him, focused on his cards. I had this picture on my bookcase in our living room for many years.
2 comments:
I'm so sorry Phil. I had no idea you knew Bob so well. I hadn't seen him at the Moose for a long time and was wondering how he was doing. I also thought he was one of the nicest people I'd ever played with. And he was so darn noisy too LOL. Just kidding.
Side note - when I was just out of high school my first summer job was working at Pischel Yearbooks. Small world.
Sorry Phil, good friends are really hard to come by.
Post a Comment