Jeffrey  "Stretch" Panak

 Jeffrey John "Stretch" Panak passed away quietly in his sleep of a probable heart malfunction the morning of October 13, 2003. Though born in California on January 8, 1961, since 1962 he was a true Austinite.

 

Jeff attended St. Louis Catholic School from grades 1 through 8 and graduated from A.N. McCallum High School in 1979.

 

Stretch was known for his eccentric sense of humor among his large and amazingly diverse group of friends and business associates. People often asked him how tall he was – he would reply 6 feet, 12-1/2 inches; many thought he was over 7 feet tall.

 

He was a talented metal sculptor and welder, and for the past few years has been active in the Balcones Forge, where many of his friends "pounded hot metal." A number of his metal sculptures and constructions grace the homes of family and friends, and others can be viewed at such locations as the Design Center at Penn Field, the Treehouse Grill, and most of the Chuy's family of restaurants. The recent theft of one of his ambitious creations – a 6-foot long metal cockroach, originally intended to decorate a comparably sized taco-shaped billboard – made local news.

 

Stretch was also very good at creating new things, often magically producing obscure tools and equipment needed by friends and family. Making good swaps and deals at auctions was a favorite pastime.

 

Stretch is survived by his parents John Jesse and Carolyn Ann Panak; grandmother, Estelle Yarrell Konz; sisters, Mary Margaret and Kathryn Ann Panak; brother, David Leo Panak; sister-in-law, Lisa Rene Panak; much-loved and roughhoused-with niece, Abigail Rachel Panak; and nephews, Nathan Jeffrey, Josiah Marcelino, and Jacob Elijah Panak, and many aunts, uncles and cousins.

 

Nine-year-old Abigail wrote: "He splashed me in the water. I rode his back and sometimes he pushed me in the water. That was fun! I miss Jeffrey, he was the best person I met."

 

The family requested memorial donations be made to the Pegasus School in Lockhart, Texas. A memorial service was held Friday, October 17, 2003, at St. Louis Catholic Church in Austin. 

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Published in The Austin American-Statesman.