30-01-2005 Ryszard Pogorzelski passed away

We used to call HIM simply Rysiu. Sometimes, when joking, I called HIM Schwarzenegger because he seemed indestructible. HE was friendly to all of us, to all of us HE was emitting the calmness, which HE was very seldom loosing. HE was liked by the young and loved by the “old” co-workers. HIS nature, quality of work, relations with other people and other important human qualities could be described with one modest adjective, HE was simply good. During the last weeks I was thinking of HIM continuously, knowingly and unconsciously. I knew HE was in a very bad condition. In the end of January I was not able to stay in Poznan and so I read each new received SMS with fear, that one of them would bring the worst news. The worst happened on the 30th of January. Almost at the same moment I received some SMS of a similar content: "Rysiu died", "Rysiu died this afternoon", "it happened". Nobody had the courage to call, to avoid talking about the pain after passing away of the good MAN and the close FRIEND.

We cannot think of it, as if it was a nightmare we could still wake up from. We will hear HIS composed voice never again, we will not feel HIS calmness. HE will not repair any steam generator, never assembly any Prix. We will not change it as it is irreversible and independent on us. However all of us, HIS friends, have the full right to retain HIS presence among us forever. Nobody can take this right away from us, there is no such power. The most important thing we leave behind are memories of the closest people. So let us talk about HIM as much as possible, contrary to the destiny, which makes us mortal and wants to make us forgotten. We will not give up and we will not forget about RYSIU.
When I visited HIM in the hospital for the last time, HE looked at me during conversation, smiled and said "…you know, while I stay put in bed here, I think about holiday and fishing". So as You take HIM away Our Lord, please, take care of a decent lake for HIM, where mosquitoes do not sting and pikes bite like crazy…
Pawel Bronski