Sunday, August 17, 2008
On Friday the 8th of August, 2008, Walter "Killer" Kowalski suffered a massive heart attack.
Six days later the neurologist attending his case proclaimed him brain dead.
After consultation with his wife, Theresa, and family, it was decide that Walter Kowalski would be removed from life support systems on Monday the 18th of August, 2008.
Walter Kowalski is survived by his wife Theresa, brother Stanley, nephews Jan, Anthony and Mark and niece Laura.
Those wishing to leave messages of condolence or memories of Walter Kowalski are invited to do so below.
Thank you,
Mark Spulnik
August 2008.
Update August 20th;
Some commentors have taken offence that I have put up this page.
In defiance of the clinical realities of my uncle's condition, they berate me for not waiting for a miracle and accuse me of trying to "cash in".
Vulgar and abusive comments have been deleted.
All others will remain because they have a right to express their views.
Having said that, I would like to draw attention to the fact that I put up the post on Sunday the 17th. The third sentence of the post speaks of what would be happening on Monday the 18th. Any fair reader will see that I was talking about what we could expect after the weekend.
I was hoping to offer more definitive news of my uncle by now, but the fact that the lines of communication have gone quiet at one end, compounded by massive time zone differences, means that I'm pretty much in the dark. Only when I get confirmation of the inevitable, will I put up an R.I.P with the appropriate dates.
This page was put up as a focal point for fans from disparate and varied forums to come together and share their thoughts and feelings.
Anybody can post here without having to register, become a member or be bombarded with advertisements.
It's done for the fans. I gain nothing from it.
Thank you.
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30 comments:
Thank you for putting up this page, Mark. I'd like to offer my condolences to the family. I was fortunate enough to meet Walter in Boston a few years ago, and I thoroughly enjoyed his off-beat sense of humour. He will be missed.
Karen
Hi Mark
Sorry to learn of the passing of your uncle Walter.
Condolences to the family.
Sorry to hear about this sad news. He indeed is a legend in wrestling. Before The Rock, Austin, Hogan, Flair, Kowalski was the man with no frills and all of the trills!
God bless,
Juan Fernandez-Saines
Mark,
Why would you report that Walter has passed away when he is, in fact, alive? It makes no sense, unless you are simply looking to gain attention from your Uncle's failing health.
My thoughts and prayers are with Walter in the hopes that he can recover from this battle.
As for you, Mark, perhaps you should think of those you will affect before you post such a serious and false blog.
I agree with the last two posters as well. I wouldn't have known such a horrible thing could be done, had it not been for the mention of this cold heartless blog on SLAM! Wrestlings website.
Mark - I hope your Dad drags you back here to Ottawa and takes you for a little walk out to the woodshed.
Your Uncle deserves better than to be buried before his time.
brain dead is dead to me
he had a long and interesting life
RIP Killer Kowalski
It was never my intention for people to come here and abuse Walter's nephew. There is an obvious disconnect, and Mark is not entirely to blame.
Let us instead celebrate the life of Walter Kowalski as he goes peacefully into the night.
Look marks,
You only want to call out this man who is losing an uncle that he may or may have not had close relations with, and just to sound smart you bash him for posting.
Is the passing of killer even your business and who are you to judge how this man deals with his loss?
Ever consider that he either misunderstud the communications to him from North America to Oceana, or perhaps he is so greif stricken that his only outlet is this blog and you people shit on him for it.
You marks think you always got it right! stay away from the dirtsheets and internet rumor messageboards..at the very least let this man handle his loss as he deems nessicary, who are you to killer kowalski to think you care for him more so than his own family?
Say a paryer for walter and his family if you wanna help! Or find out where donations and contributaions can be made.
After that go back to buying action figures and tickets to events and order ppv's and attend indie shows so that the inpending passing of a legend dont go in vain whist you bash his family.
Help keep wrestling alive because the smarter you marks get we will eventualy have to take wrestling off life support!
Show some respect
Walt
um... hes not dead yet...
Ummm.... "IF" he was IN FACT brain dead... He would NOT be capable of functioning once taken OFF life support... And he is FUNCTIONING this very moment.
So NO... He is NOT dead.
What a strange and morbid blog... You have some issues buddy... Work on um.
Strange.
My deepest and most sincere condolences to the friends and family of Walter "Killer" Kowalski. I was proud to honor him by making him a part of the LCW Board of Directors.
I am praying for the family, but shouldn't you wait until the man has actually died before posting about his death.
I would like to offer my condolences to the family. I myself was trained by Kowalski shortly before his school shut down and i went with him to Chaotic before being injured. I enjoyed the short time i spent with him and enjoyed hearing the stories he had to tell and the knowledge he had to share. I will greatly miss him.
God Bless You Killer. You are a wrestling God. And that is how everyone will remember.
God Bless The Rest of The Family
Hunter
sorry to hear of the passing of you runcle and even though i really didnt know much of his work,i know of ones that trained under his wing like triple hhh and chyna and that he will be sorely missed.
As a childhood friend of Mark's and someone with whom he's been corresponding through this difficult time (and a former kid who watched wrestling on TV in the 1970s) I have one message:
Hold your fire.
I remember as a kid when "Uncle Killer" came to town and his Lincoln Continental (coupe...nothing less for the "confirmed bachelor") would sit outside Mark's house. Mark wasn't obnoxious about the fact he had a famous (or infamous) uncle. He was simply proud.
Mark sent me an e-mail almost 2 weeks ago telling me of Uncle Killer's condition. Consider the circumstances: a massive heart attack hits an 81 year old guy who nods off when he gets journalist visitors. After the dust clears, the neurologist tests his brain and declares him brain dead....
What are you going to do?
This isn't about Mark and this isn't about me and this isn't about your misplaced sense of indignation. This is about one guy: Killer Kowalski...who happens to be my friend's uncle.
What Mark alluded to in the post about the miscommunication is something he shared with me in an e-mail. It was extremely frustrating for everyone in the family so please - offer respect and stories about Killer, and just express condolences for the family...anything else is just disrespectful to a wrestling legend and a family undergoing a prolonged mourning while a strong body inevitably dies.
He will be missed.. He is a true legend of the ring.. and he gives future wrestlers as well as current wrestlers something to look up to.. i hope that he would pull through, even though the odds seem against him i think he can do it.
I just read the news. He was a great man and a huge part of wrestling. My thoughts and prayers go out to your family. RIP Killer Kowalski.
My thoughts and prayers go out to you Mark and your whole family for this sad and unfortunate news. I hope you all get through this and live your lives to the fullest, knowing that Walter is looking down at all of you with pride.
As a fan of wrestling before the glitz and glamour of WWF and others I am deeply saddened by the passing of an icon..Killer Kowalski.I remember as a child watching him wrestle every saturday and remember his athletism and polite demeanor with the commentators and other wrestlers. He always shook hands with his opponent before defeating them with skill and power. Few could match him and he will be greatly missed. He was a showman before his time and many today could take a lesson from him...
Hi Mark, my name is Zachary and your uncle Walter is the Godfather to me and my sister. What a great man Walter is. He never forgot our birthdays, or any holidays. We would always call him up on his birthday and sing happy birthday to him. We have the fondest memories of him spending Christmas with us and the many trips we took to Massachusetts to visit him, and the trips he made to New York to visit us.. He was very close with my Dad who he also trained as a wrestler but his relationship with my Father was much more personal and went way beyond wrestling. When we went anywhere with him he would always introduce my Dad as his son. The poems he wrote for our family are just beautiful.
I remember when my sister was younger Walter would hold her hand as he walked across the floor in the restaurant. Then he would drag his shoes so they squeaked out loud and she would laugh and when she laughed he would do it all the more. The people in the restaurant would just look up and she this big man and little girl as Walter was squeaking his shoes. He let me bring him to my school so that everyone could meet him. That made me so very happy, not to mention much more popular with the teachers. What Great fun he was to be around. What a Great Godfather he is. We love him very much and will miss him dearly.
We offer our deepest condolences and love to you and your family.
God Bless…..
Zachary S.
God Bless You, Walter. You provided millions of people, young and old, with entertainment for many decades and you paved the way for the Superstars of today.
I never had the privelege of seeing you wrestle, as your prime was before I came to being...but as a 37 year old man, I now watch tapes of you and am amazed at how you and another man could tell such a wonderful story in the ring without the use of pyro, intro music, in-ring promos, video packages, etc. All you had to do was get in there and tell the stories with your bodies and actions. WOW! It's a pleasure to watch.
To Mrs. Kowalski, you are the true Champion in every sense of you word. You sat at Walter's bedside tirelessly watching over him. Making sure that he was safe and comforted. Your loyalty and devotion to Walter is beyond compare and I'm sure God has a special place reserved for you in Heaven..right with Walter. I know that the two of you will be together again someday. God Bless you. You are a wonderful woman.
To the family of Mr. Kowalski, may God bless you and ease your pain in this most difficult time. Having lost my Dad recently, I know the tremendous pain this causes and it never goes away, but it does get easier day by day and with the love of family and friends.
To Mark, I offer my deepest sympathies to you and your family on the passing of Walter. I know you've taken some bashing on this blog in past weeks over a mis-understanding but I hope that you can chalk it all up to people who love and care enough about your Uncle Walter enough that they were upset when it was posted he had died when he was still living. Grow from their comments as they are meant in love of Walter. May God Bless you and be well.
-Jeff Docherty
Originally from Wellesley Hills, MA
E-Mail: jeffdoc@gmail.com
I became a fan of Wladek Kowalski when he used to come to wrestle at the Montreal Forum on Wednesday nights back in the early 50's. I was just a young teen-ager and loved to see him beat the living daylights out of his many many opponents. He was always the headliner for Eddie Quinn the Promoter.
His finishing hold was his famous Knee-Drop. I was at the Forum on the night he knocked the ear off of Yukon Eric's head. There was chaos around the ring and more blood than you can imagine.
I followed his career right up until he retired. I loved wrestling so much thanks to my idol Killer Kowalski that I became an amateur wrestler at the YMCA in Montreal. At 6'2" and weighing 220 lbs, I had dreams of becoming a professional. Instead of doing so, I decided upon a career in Business but never lost my love for wrestling and for my idol Killer Kowalski.
To his wife and family, I wish to express my sincerest condolences. I share your grief over the loss of the greatest wrestler to ever step into the ring. I will forever remember him.
Jack Baron, Toronto, Ontario.
i love the fact that he has been the only wrestler/legend that i have even gotten to meet for a few seconds. it was at a show in fitchburg mass a few years ago. he actualy talked to my mom. that is ne of the moments in life that i will cherish forever because i was just a few feet away from a legend who taught one of my favorites that i have now. i will miss him. ps you obviously taught your students very well walter. christine
I would like to express my deepest sympathies to your family...Walter was THE MAN! He was the greatest 'heel' of all time, but what people don't know was he was a gentleman, and a gentle man... Kind beyond words... When he would take a local kid, and train him for 1/4 of what he should have charged to attend 'Kowalski's school of wrestling', seeing that the kid had heart and talent! I have heard MANY stories from friends who also trained there, and every story was heartwarming... Yes, if you screwed up a spot, or were 'soft' on a hold, you DID get a punch! But that was expected and accepted!
Walter, thank you for all you gave us! RIP!
Paul
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