Victor John Holchak

You lived a full admirable life. I'm sure you're in heaven with your sister, Bobbye June Holchak Divin who passed away in 1987. Rest in peace.

Vic was one hell of a guy. We met at L.A.C.C. in 1961. One of the high lights of our friendship, was attending the Russian-American track-meet in Stanford in 1962. Although I had not spoken with him in many years, I thought of him often, and the good times we had. It's hard to believe he is dead.

For the good times...
Pete Nichols (Brighton, UK)

Dear unknown friends,
I lost touch with Vic ten years ago, and tried occasionally to get in touch with him, across the time difference from London
great fun with, and memories of Vic on the preceding 20 years or so on the track and field athletics circuit in Europe and beyond....
my occasional internet trawl finally landed me here, to learn the sad news
RIP

Vic, one of a kind - fond college memories. We'll remember you.

I would hear Vic begin like this...on many occasions: "In 3, 2, and 1...." That's the countdown. And what followed on the radio from Vic Holchak was artistry and immediacy.

Vic was the best guy I ever heard call a footrace on the radio. Think about this: When they're running the 100 meters at the Olympics, you've got the fastest athletes on the planet. And you have to describe as much as you can, from start to finish.....in 10 seconds or so. Vic did it great.

A few years ago, he told our old Olympic radio boss Shelby Whitfield, "Some of the best moments of my life were at those Olympic games, working with you and ABC."

Vic may have lived on the other side of the country from me, but he was close by. One of the guys I can count on one hand as one of my closest friends.

Vic and I became buddies in the 80's. We got shut out of Opening Ceremonies tickets in Seoul, so we toasted with beers from our press village balcony. We DID get through the ceremony in Lillehammer, Norway in 1994. Coldest I've ever been. You couldn't tell Vic was a Southern Californian. He kept filing his stories, as we stood in the cold and darkness. In Nagano, in 1998, we did calls to radio stations sitting at adjacent pay phones....informing listeners about the day's events, and what we'd discovered about Japanese culture. Someone took a photo of us jabbering away. I framed it and sent it to him. When we'd connect through the years, Vic would mention how much he enjoyed that picture that hung in his home.

We'd stay in touch on the phone. Calls were always at random. He was ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS glad to hear you call. Loved to talk about radio, and about life. He always had ideas, and often said, "well, that's for another conversation."

I learned how important it is to MAKE that time.

Now I treasure our talks....even more.

You're the BEST, Vic.