When Dorothy Sowa called me a couple of months ago, I knew what I had to do.
Dorothy told me that her husband, Stan Sowa, wasn’t doing too well. He has his good days and bad days, she said. Despite the pain and fatigue Stan endured while he battled his illness, Dorothy said he still enjoyed reading my column and his mind was always on the outdoors.
That meant the world to me, and when I hung up the phone, I wanted to do something that would mean the world to Stan.
Initially I wanted to sit down with Stan and make him the focus of a Sunday Outdoors page. After all he has done for hunters, anglers and conservationists in the area, it was the least I could do.
But then I thought back to an offer Rich Walton made some time ago.
Rich, who aside from being a deputy wildlife conservation officer with the Pennsylvania Game Commission, penned a local outdoors column for many years. Like Stan, people knew Rich Walton and it was no surprise the two were close friends who worked, hunted and fished together for decades.
Rich had offered to provide copy for the Outdoors page if I ever needed anything.
Before the opening day of deer season, I called Rich and asked him to sit down with Stan, do a story on his friend and capture a lifetime dedicated to conservation and the outdoors.
The results of Rich’s efforts appeared on this page last Sunday. Stan passed away a day earlier, and Rich’s story marked the last time two of the first outdoors writers in the area would work together.
I noticed a few things when I said goodbye to Stan last Tuesday at his viewing.
I saw how strong and loving his family is as they graciously greeted everyone who came to pay tribute to Stan.
I saw how respected Stan was by the variety of people who came to his viewing – including Pennsylvania Game Commission officials, outdoor writers, former co-workers and many friends.
And I also saw how the one thing that mattered most to Stan, aside from his family, managed to stay close to his heart despite a lengthy illness that prohibited him from enjoying the outdoors. At the entrance to the room where the viewing was held was one of Stan’s muzzleloaders displayed on a rack. On a nearby table were several plaques and certificates – awards that Stan received for his conservation efforts.
Efforts that made the outdoors a better place while Stan was here, and educated us on the value of conservation, sportsmanship and ethics.
My earliest memory of Stan is from the mid-1980s when I turned 12. My dad and I would spend every Saturday in the fall and winter hunting turkeys or small game. We would get home in the evening and click on Pennsylvania Outdoor Life (the show aired on Saturdays back then) and watch Stan. It was the perfect ending to a good day of hunting.
Later, I started reading Stan’s columns every week and developed a friendship with him when I started writing about the outdoors as well.
When I left Stan’s viewing on Tuesday I may have bid farewell to a friend, but it wasn’t an absolute end. Stan’s accomplishments and his dedication to conservation will never be forgotten.
There are many, myself included, who will do our best to walk the path that Stan Sowa blazed.
Previously published in the Times Leader, December 16, 2007.
