News

A Wally Malewicz Memorial

Michael Fremer  |  Jun 28, 2019

Dave Gordon, who is Audio Research's Brand Ambassador, and who I've known for more than a few decades was a neighbor of my late mentor and friend Wally Malewicz. Dave sent this note and asked for people to share with others who considered Wally a friend. If any AnalogPlanet readers have gotten any good vinyl playback information from me, most of it originated with Wally, so consider him a friend. Therefore here's Dave's note:

Dear Friends,

It is hard to believe that we lost Wally a year ago. He was loved by his neighbors in our Cherry Hill neighborhood, who held a brief, informal memorial for him the Sunday before last. About two dozen people attended. My wife and I moved to the neighborhood 17 years ago and lived about a quarter mile away. He would drive by and exclaim, “Howdy neighbor!” And, he would occasionally remind me to use ear plugs when I was mowing my lawn.

A number of us spoke about Wally and what he meant to us; as you might expect, I was the only one from the audio industry. I was delighted that Wally’s son, Andrzej, also brought his sons to the memorial. (That’s Andrzej, with the microphone.) He is a Vice President of R&D at Medtronic. His bio reads, in part, “Design engineering is in my DNA; since childhood, I’ve been tinkering and inventing. I’ve parlayed this passion into a 30-year career in R&D and product design leadership…”

The apple did not fall far from the tree. It was wonderful for Andrzej and his sons to find out how beloved Wally was in our neighborhood. A few people knew that Wally was so proud of giving presentations for Clearaudio during the 2018 Munich show. Wally spent extra time in Europe before returning home; he suffered his heart attack shortly thereafter, while visiting with the family next door. We will all miss him.

Wally’s Saab went to a neighbor.

Please share this with others who considered Wally a friend.

Sincerely,

Dave (Gordon)
Brand Ambassador, Audio Research

COMMENTS
Jim Tavegia's picture
Submitted by Jim Tavegia on Sat, 2019-06-29 04:08

Condolences to the family. Pioneers are hard to come buy.

ravenacustic's picture
Submitted by ravenacustic on Sat, 2019-06-29 09:40

Several times regarding arm and cartridge set up. Free advice from a master. Not easy to find regardless of subject matter. He used to set up shop in a common area of shows and give his knowledge for free for those interested. It must have been gratifying to him to see the renewed interest in records today. Oh and yes, I own his universal protractor.

volvic's picture
Submitted by volvic on Mon, 2019-07-01 13:38

Growing up and trying to wrap my head around the analog concepts of proper turntable alignment, Wally's name was never far away from any serious discussion about proper setup and performance. His absence is missed. RIP!

mflaten's picture
Submitted by mflaten on Thu, 2019-07-25 09:53

I live a few miles from Wally in Medina. Wally would come to my home every couple of months to have coffee and cookies and measure with Clio, make turntable adjustments and listen to music. Wally was a unique guy and there are many interesting and funny stories I could tell about Wally. He was also a man who loved America (having grown up in Poland). He tells about the time, with a tear in his eye, when the US Army liberated the camp he was in and he, as a small child, was given a Hershey bar and a small stuffed animal from the GI's jeep.

He had a good heart and is missed.

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