Obit for Bob Pastorio (my e-mail Friend)
rmarksberry@houston.rr.com(no spam)
Bob Pastorio
SWOOPE Born in New Brunswick, N.J., Bob graduated with a degree in English
from Rutgers University. During the first half of his life, he briefly
supported himself as a musician (playing guitar with the Chad Mitchell Trio,
among other gigs,) he worked as a professional photographer, he earned an
MBA and visited or lived in about 60 countries while an international
marketing manager for Westinghouse.
He left the corporate world in the 1970s, and after professional training,
ran his own and others' restaurants, ranging from fast food to
white-tablecloth operations offering international cuisine as well as
resorts and country clubs. He also wrote more than 1,500 articles, some of
which were picked up by the Los Angeles Times Syndicate, the New York Times
Syndicate and slick, full-color national and regional magazines like USAir
and The Virginian.
He wrote seven entries in the new Oxford University Press Encyclopedia of
Food and Drink in America.
Both of Bob's WSVA Harrisonburg radio programs, one call-in and one
scripted, centered around food, cooking and culinary wisdom and foolishness.
He made periodic appearances on commercial and PBS television stations,
taught cooking classes at various schools and universities and catered
private occasions for the last 20 years. He had a long-time love of bonsai
and treated his trees like artwork. His lifelong desire was to be one of the
first tourists on the moon.
Bob is survived by wife, Carol Thomas; daughters, Robin Pastorio-Newman and
Carin Rencher, both of New Jersey; and Carla Pastorio of Swoope; a son James
Pastorio of Los Angeles; six grandchildren; a sister, Gloria Bernard, also
of New Jersey; and friends around the world who filled the last weeks of his
life with joy and laughter.
La N
"rmark...@houston.rr.com(no spam)" <rmark...@houston.rr.nospam.com>
wrote in message news:461290d6$0$19086$4c36...@roadrunner.com...
> From the Staunton, VA, News Leader:
>
> Bob Pastorio
>
> SWOOPE Born in New Brunswick, N.J., Bob graduated with a degree in English
> from Rutgers University. During the first half of his life, he briefly
> supported himself as a musician (playing guitar with the Chad Mitchell
> Trio,
> among other gigs,)
Wow. A couple degrees of separation happening here. A long ago neighbour
of mine, Mike Kobluk, was one of the original members of the Chad Mitchell
Trio.
- nilita
Chris
"rmark...@houston.rr.com(no spam)" <rmark...@houston.rr.nospam.com>
wrote in message news:461290d6$0$19086$4c36...@roadrunner.com...
>
>
http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070403/NEWS01/704030334/1002
Area chef, radio host left impact on locality
By Christina M. Mitchell/staff
cmit...@newsleader.com
SWOOPE - Bob Pastorio loved to make people laugh.
His own laugh was distinctive, a hearty chuckle that
reverberated through the airwaves of radio station WSVA and invited
listeners to join in the joke.
On their show, "Middays," which aired for two hours twice a
month, Pastorio and Jim Britt talked and joked with listeners about the
world of food and whatever else inspired them.
"One of the things you couldn't help but notice when you were
around Bob was just somebody who lived life," Britt said. "He just had so
many varied interests and so many things that he enjoyed."
An avid writer and chef who left the corporate world in the
1970s to open his own restaurant, Pastorio shared his wit and wisdom through
the show. Listeners tuned in as much for his warm personality as his fine
palate, Britt said.
"He basically was the guy you heard on the radio, and it's very
difficult to fool people, particularly when you're on the air for close to
20 years," Britt said.
Bob Pastorio died Sunday after a months-long battle with cancer.
On Monday, Pastorio's many admirers continued to leave messages,
both at WSVA and on the family blog, bobs-amanuensis.livejournal.com, that
fondly recalled his influences in their lives. The radio station ran a
special tribute in his name.
Charles Culbertson, a News Leader columnist, remembered Pastorio
from his days as a young writer washing dishes in Pastorio's kitchen. At the
time, Pastorio ran a Staunton restaurant called The Different Drummer.
"(Customers) were drawn mostly I think because the food was
superb and because of Bob, just the force of his personality," Culbertson
recalled. "I think he got as much of a kick (out of meeting people in the
restaurant) as out of the cooking. He loved to meet people and to interact."
After hours, Culbertson recalled late night gatherings with
Pastorio and the rest of the Different Drummer staff filled with drink,
music and plenty of jokes.
"He should've been on stage. He could've been a stand-up comic
had he wanted to be," Culbertson said.
Britt said the "Middays" show will continue, but Pastorio's
contribution will be missed.
"He was just a very unique talent," Britt said.
rmarksberry@houston.rr.com(no spam)
"Chris"
> "He should've been on stage. He could've been a stand-up comic
> had he wanted to be," Culbertson said.
>
> Britt said the "Middays" show will continue, but Pastorio's
> contribution will be missed.
>
> "He was just a very unique talent," Britt said.
>
Many thanks for posting this Chris,
Bob Pastorio taught me how to keep my spaghetti from sticking together, what
my BIL could expect from open heart surgery (Bob went through it himself
many years ago), how to make "Cream of Anything" soup, and many, many other
things.
Chris in Pearland, TX
Brigid Nelson
How to cook the perfect steak.
b
Stacia
>From the Staunton, VA, News Leader:
>Bob Pastorio
Oh, this is terrible news. He was one of the good guys on
rec.food.cooking. I left the group months ago and had no idea he was
ill, so I'm shocked to say the least. This is just heartbreaking.
Requiesat in Pace, Bob. You will be missed.
Stacia
Alan Hope
I don't much hold with the idea of mourning the dead. Those who were
no good, and we can all fill in the names, we're only too glad to see
the back of. Those who enriched us with their visit have left behind
so much more than they've taken away.
Bob Pastorio's last days were relayed to us in a blog maintained by
Carol, his wife and like him, a former denizen of misc.writing. It
seems only appropriate to carry on in the same vein.
So I've taken the liberty of creating a blog on Blogger:
http://pastorio-chef.blogspot.com/
which I'd like to open up to anyone from the many and various
newsgroups he frequented, who has anything to post in memoriam of
Pastorio. I've started the ball rolling with one of his archived posts
of a recycled article which caught my imagination at the time and
seems to have stayed with me since. I've also put up the two
obituaries cited here today.
Anyone with a Blogger account who wishes to post, email me and I'll
invite you. For the others, there's an email address you can use to
make a blog post in a simple email message. Contact me likewise and
I'll give you that address, no questions asked.
I'm placing no pre-conditions on the type of posts you can make. Each
to his own. It's how he would have wanted it.
If you know of anyone who might be interested who isn't covered by
this post, let them know.
The blog, incidentally, brings no return to me or to anyone else.
--
Alan Hope
http://sour-grapes.tumblr.com/