OBITUARY by W6XI

AZ Daily Star - 29 May 2010

Bernie J. Sasek, W7KQ (SK):  Bernie J. Sasek W7KQ (ex W0YOY, XE2VHX, OK8KQ ) passed away April 28, 2010.  He was 74 and a resident of Tucson Arizona.  Bernie was first licensed in 1954 as WN0YOY in Wilber, Nebraska.  After upgrading to W0YOY, he was active on VHF for a few years before discovering DXing and has been an active DXer up to his passing.  Bernie was active with the ARRL, serving as Section Manager from 1991 to 1993.  He received the SWD Meritorious Service Award in 1991, and was also very active in the VEC program.

Bernie was a life member of ARRL, a member of the Southern Arizona DX Association, Central Arizona DX Association and the Arizona Outlaws Contest Club.  He was a founding member of the Southern Arizona DX Association, served as president of the organization a number of times and was currently the Secretary Treasurer.  Bernie had achieved a prestigious standing in the ARRL DXCC Honor Roll #1 program with having worked all 338 entities in mixed and phone mode, and an overall count of 354 entities confirmed.  Bernie was active in contesting having operated at 6D2DX, 4B2A and other contest stations.  His current primary activity was building his country count on 30 meters.  Bernie's 44 year professional career was in the commercial broadcast engineering industry, initially in Nebraska and ending with his retirement from KVOA-TV in Tucson.

Bernie was preceded in passing by his wife Karen, W7QJK, in August of 2009.  He is survived by sons Bill and Greg, KA7JGY.

Bernie's passing is a great loss to the amateur radio community and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.

Bernie Sasek passed away suddenly on April 28, 2010 at his home in Tucson, AZ. He was born December 15, 1935 in Wilber, NE to Elmer and Vlasta Sasek. Bernie worked as a television engineer his entire life retiring in 2001 from KVOA in Tucson. Prior to moving to Tucson he had been employed by TV stations in Lincoln, NE and Sioux City, IA. Bernie enjoyed his retirement and was interested in his gardens and flowers. He spent many hours working his ham radio station and had contacted other ham operators in 100's of countries using Morse code when language was a barrier. He also enjoyed spending time with his granddaughters and appreciated his ham buddies and the saturday night pizza group. Bernie was a thoughtful and honorable person who will be missed by all. He was preceded in death by his wife of 47 years, Karen Lyon Sasek; and parents, Elmer and Vlasta Sasek of Wilber, NE. He is survived by his son, Bill of Corona de Tucson; son and daughter-in-law, Gregg and LeAnn of Tucson; and granddaughters, Charlotte and Hannah. He is also survived by sisters, Helen (Rod) Goering of Cheney, KS and Susie Arney of Marble Falls, TX and their respective families. Memorial Services will be held at 10:30, June 12, 2010 at the Catalina United Methodist Church in Tucson. Memorials to the University of Arizona Cancer Center can be sent to 1515 N. Campbell Ave. Tucson, AZ 85724-5024.