W6ONZ 1946 Sacramento, California

Operator: Robert J. Kovak Passed away December 5, 2004 in the company of family at age 86.
Born in Great Falls, Montana, December 15, 1917, son of the late Katherine Svetich Lynn who emigrated from Yugoslavia.
A graduate of Sacramento High School, he earned a certificate in Electrical Engineering at Sacramento Junior College.
During WWII he trained as an Air Force navigator and served as a First Lieutenant Communications Officer.
After the war he moved his young family to Fair Oaks to grow up in the country amidst open fields.
He worked at the Sacramento Army Depot and was Deputy Director for Maintenance when he retired in 1973.
Throughout his life he was a ham operator, call sign W60NZ, distinguishing himself by making a remarkable 1949 contact with an operator in Tibet.
He "worked all zones" in 1950, and by attained the difficult "extra" class license in 1983.
An avid outdoorsman, he spent many summers camping with his family and enjoyed hunting and fly fishing in California, Wyoming, and Montana.
He also traveled throughout the US, Canada, and Europe.

QSL courtesy of DJ5LY
Info published in The Sacramento Bee on Dec. 10, 2004.
Courtesy of W5KNE