Donald A. Bacek

Bob Abramowitz writes (3/09/10):

Don Bacek, a Yale classmate, died last month.  Don, who was in TD, graduated from Yale magna cum laude with a psychology major, and from Harvard Law School in 1974.  He went on to a distinguished legal career in Atlanta, practicing business law and becoming a founding partner of Page & Bacek.  In 1996, Don changed careers when he and his wife Sharon purchased a Bed and Breakfast in Dahlonega, Georgia.  A number of Yale classmates visited Don at Lily Creek Lodge including Steve King, Bob Ufer and me.   Don was active in the local business community as President of the Rotary Club and Treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce.

The email below was written by a law school classmate of Don, and pretty well captures him.   In many ways, Don was larger than life.  One example: when Don married Sharon in 1984, he arranged to fly in the Whiffenpoofs to sing at his wedding.  Don is survived by his wife, Sharon, and three stepdaughters.  A Donald Bacek Scholarship Fund has been established c/o Rotary Intl Club of Dahlonega, PO Box 982, Dahlonega, GA 30533.

[Kevin Grady’s email follows:]

Fellows, I’m sorry to be the bearer of the bad news, but our friend, Don Bacek, died last night. Some of you may have already gotten the word from his family, and, if so, I apologize for sending this news again. Don’s step-daughter, Julie, asked me if I would alert his HLS friends about Don’s death. The funeral arrangements are still up in the air, and as soon as I know anything definite, I will pass on the details.

Mary Beth and I got word on Tuesday from Don’s family that he had been diagnosed with lung cancer, and had been undergoing chemotherapy, but had decided that it was not worth continuing. The family thought Don had between 2 weeks and 2 months to live. We called on Wednesday to arrange a time to visit with Don. We had hoped to drive to Dahlonega today to see him, and we were waiting to hear from his wife, Sharon, about the best time to see him today. We got a call from Julie late this morning that Don had unexpectedly taken a turn for the worse and died last night. He was apparently not in too much pain, and died peacefully.

All of us who knew Don know that he was a unique individual. He was brilliant, funny, outrageous, insulting, kind, child-like, oblivious, and some times a royal pain in the ass, but he was a dear, dear friend. I will miss him terribly, as I know you will as well. I told Julie that I have no doubt that there is one heck of a cocktail party going on in heaven right now, and Don is probably trying to arrange a special performance of all the Whiffenpoofs singing Cole Porter’s greatest hits.

Take a moment and reflect on some of your favorite Don Bacek memories. I know he would want us all to join him in remembering those warm and wacky times together.

The tribute below is by Steve King:

Donald A. Bacek (1949-2010)

When Don Bacek left us last week, there was a disturbance in the Force.

A jolly, playful entertainer, Don was always at home not only with friends and family but also with those he met for the first time.  Few could resist his unique charms and fewer still could remain aloof after meeting this colorful raconteur for the first time.

Don was a bundle of contradictions.  On the one hand he was a successful lawyer in a sophisticated metropolitan area for almost a quarter century, and yet he (and Sharon) were equally successful for almost two decades as special innkeepers in a small Southern community.  He was the cosmopolitan world traveler who had visited every continent and hailed from the suburbs of New York City, yet he put down solid roots and became endeared to many of those living in the red clay of north Georgia.  He could stroke you and insult you in the same sentence, but no matter what he said, you could never take offence because he always ended his soliloquies with an impish, signature laugh.

Of course, we will miss Don’s warmth, personality, and joie de vivre. Great though our loss may be, we should remember the many good years we were able to enjoy this kind and gentle man: the years in which Don was a wonderful husband, caring father, and good friend.  Let each of us also remember our favorite stories about Don.  No matter how long one had known him, these memories are rich, varied, and plentiful.  His love of literature, opera—Wagner, in particular—Cole Porter songs, and the games of bridge and pinochle could each bring a flood of reminiscences all by themselves.

Possibly most of all, let us remember Don’s uncanny gifts as a teacher.  Despite two successful careers, I believe strongly that his teaching ability remained his most highly prized talent.  Whether tutoring calculus in college (where he could literally fill a seminar room), deciphering the Internal Revenue Code to a flummoxed IRS agent at the occasional tax audit, teasing apart the intricacies of a question on the annual Christmas quiz, or helping a daughter with homework. Don was always at his best when he was explaining something.  It is entirely appropriate that a scholarship fund has been established in his name.

There was indeed a disturbance in the Force last week.

Still and all, if we have lost something special, know surely that heaven has been enriched by Don’s passing.  Can there by any doubt that Don had a long, riotous conversation with St. Peter as he entered the pearly gates?  Or that he is even now introducing Cole Porter songs to his new friends or teaching an acolyte the finer points of the “pizza and coke” bridge convention that he invented 40 years ago?  Surely not!

Finally, to say, “goodbye,” let us recall Horatio’s words over the fallen Hamlet from the Shakespeare canon that Don knew so well and loved so much:

“Now cracks a noble heart.  Good night, sweet Prince,/ And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.”