2/6/94

Bill Plimpton  W2IXH

 

 

Mr. Robt. Buus,

 

            It was with a deep sense of loss, & at first disbelief, that I read the Eulogy, to my old friend Dick Turrin, that was in Nov. QST for 94. (editor’s note: actually Feb, 1994)

 

            I first met Dick when he was a young man, living at home with his mother, on a chicken farm, in Gillett, N.J.  I lived about 10 – 15 miles away, in Warren Twshp., N.J., (RD 1 Martinsville, N.J.)  He had a friend that was the mailman for our RD route.  He seen my call letters (W3IXH) on the mailbox, & when we got back on the air after WW2, I worked him on 10 mtr phone, & we got to be very good friends.  I knew his Mother, a wonderful woman, & his Aunt Mary, & his Grandmother.

 

            I was going to sea, as Radio Oper, first on liberty ships in WW2, & later with Exxon (then Standard Oil of N.J.)  A friend in Bound Brook, N.J. Trygvie Danielson, worked at NBC shortwave xmtrs, in Bound Brook.  (he was also a ham).  He knew of an opening for a transmitter tech. at NBC, by then home from a trip, he called me, & I visited the xmtr location, But had to tell the Ch. Engnr. That I only had a 2nd phone license, & a 1st Telegraph & that I was not qualified for the job.

 

            The long & short of it was, he asked me if I knew any likely candidate for the job, & I mentioned Dick Turrin.  Dick went to the library, & got the Q & A, studied it for about a week, went down to NYC & got the 1st phone license, & the job.

 

            I got Married, in 1948, & my wife & I kept up the friendship with Dick & his family.  He went to college, & got his Electrical Engineers diploma.  By then he was working part time for AT&T.  They sent him on to get his masters.  (in between he was in the army & was an instructor in Radar, at Ft. Monmouth.)  He got married, & moved to Holmdel, with AT&T.

 

            We sort of became separated, thru marriage, & raising families.  We kept in touch thru letters, mostly at xmas time.  I visited him several times at Colts Neck.  Last time was about 6 or 8 yrs ago.  He was going to come & visit with us, up here in Wellsboro, Pa. but never did.

 

            We first moved to Newton, N.J. (Paulinskill Lake), & one yr. before I retired from Exxon, we moved here.

 

            Quite some time ago now, maybe 15 to 20 yrs ago, while we still lived in N.J., I got up early & went on 20 CW.  Hrd this VK5 calling a W2 a number of times, with no answer.  There had been a hurricane swept thru the Jersey shore area.  I called the VK5, & he came back.  “Hello Bill, how are you Annie, & the family?”, and more of the same.  I was flabbergasted.  I didn’t know this VK, he was 10,000 miles away, & how did he know me?

 

            At the end of the next xmission he said this is Dick, W2IMU!  One of the most unusual contacts I every made.  He was out, in the outback, operating one of his EME friends rigs.  I made a phone contact to a friend down the shore he was calling, but the friend had gone to work.  (could it have been you?)

 

            Anyway, I wonder if you would send me a Xerox of any obituary, or obituary’s about his demise?  I would also appreciate it, if you would give me his daughters name, & address?  Is she, & her brothers till living at his home in Colts Neck?  I would like to write to them.

 

            Dick was a very nice person, a good friend, & an excellent ham.  We will miss him.

 

                                                                        73, Bill, W2IXH