With a very heavy heart...

[cleeds]

I am so sorry to hear this about Pete. Ivan, thanks for sharing and especially thanks for sharing the photo that included him. RIP. My best to his family and friends.

[matt_zak]

Such sad news. RIP Pete. I always enjoyed his contributions to the forum.

[edkoz]

So sad to lose one of our audio family .

[Still-One]

I first met Pete at your initial Florida event. He was a fine gentleman. I enjoyed following his vintage gear additions over the years. He will be missed.

[Doug Lax]

I always enjoyed Pete's posts ! Such sad news ! He will be missed here ! Wonderful Guy !

[mchydro]

So very sad. Pete was one of the original members of the forum and a true gentleman. RIP Pete.

[piolaxo]

Wow, what a tragic news. Just read from him like a week or two ago like if it was
yesterday. I have followed his posts for such a long time. Sigh. May he rest in peace.

[Formerly YB-2]

Very sad. A great contributor to this forum. Condolences to his family & friends. May he RIP. Father Time will beat us all.

[crwilli]

Sad news indeed. May he rest in peace bathed in McIntosh blue.

[Joe]

Well I consider myself a very fortunate guy. You see, it turns out that growing up my house was right next door to Pete’s. We had a lot of mutual adventures and tough times, then ended up graduating from high school together.

Please let me share some of what I know about Pete.
His audio hobby was far more than a hobby. It was a life goal which I think you would agree he fulfilled remarkably. He told me not too long ago that he started out piecing together amps from old tv’s, etc. and playing with these things to make audio systems before he was 10. I didn’t even know what and amp was at that age. In later years, he told me once that he would sit in the tub and bring his audio reading in there and plan, scheme about how to make his next audio move.

We would play chess in 6th grade, and later online over the years. We played with a few of the dads in the neighborhood and learned that way. He had other hobbies- mostly learning about stuff like surgery, etc. Painting was another hobby- he has sold some of his paintings and continued till the end with that.

Sadly, Pete’s dad passed away when he and his siblings were teens. Of course this was a trying time and affected the future. I did not know what was happening too much next door at the time.

In high school. I realized that the only thing I had a natural talent for was drafting. That was back in the day of pencils, electric erasers, big vellum or Mylar sheets, and drafting boards. It was more of an art form then. We lived in a valley in upstate NY where IBM began. So the schools in the area all had various trades encouraged with the atmosphere of technology. Many other technology companies thrived there as well. (McIntosh is still one of them – in Binghamton NY)
Coincidentally, Peter had the same drafting talent and excelled at it, as well as design. (This also was evidenced later in his audio hobby). So he was working while going to school as a drafter/designer and he got me my first “real” job with him at a local subcontractor for IBM.

By day we would work, by night we would party at his house with the music blasting, and a constant stream of visitors coming and going. Pete’s brother Stephen also was a constant in the scene and I was always inspired by his wisdom as an older brother. Once I fell asleep at my desk during lunch and the joke was that I was staying up too late partying. It was true, but I never let that happen again (at least at that job!). Pete loved to tell the story of my dad calling him into his office (he was the Vice Principal at school). My dad told him he had to turn down the tunes, he could not sleep with the music blaring next door.

After graduation, we went our separate ways, he ended up in Florida where his mom was, and he continued as a designer. We finally became reacquainted thru a high school reunion, and got to be best buddies again. About 10 years ago I was privileged to visit him in Tampa for a week. That “mothership” system blew my mind away. I can still hear it in my mind. I was inspired to start anew on a McIntosh system of my own, based on a system my Grampa had. I started calling Pete “doctor”. Doctor of Audiology! His almost daily texts I am already missing.

Most of you know the audio side of Pete more than myself, thru posts on AA. I first joined AA in 2011, and many, many of you made me welcome by saying “a friend of Pete’s is a surely friend of ours”.
I’m thankful for being enriched by his life and hope you are inspired as I am to further audio excellence.