‘Gentle giant’ taken by virus

Strong, active man succumbs



OUTDOORSMAN— Fred Bukowski, 65, was an avid surfer, motorcyclist, Navy veteran and father who died recently from COVID complications. Courtesy of Jim Bukowski

OUTDOORSMAN— Fred Bukowski, 65, was an avid surfer, motorcyclist, Navy veteran and father who died recently from COVID complications. Courtesy of Jim Bukowski

Fred Bukowski didn’t die, as he’d quip to friends he might, in a fall from his motorcycle.

He didn’t succumb to the french fries and onion rings and pizza he so enjoyed.

And the 65-year-old didn’t meet his maker doing what he loved most, surfing.

The U.S. Navy veteran, who was John Wayne rugged, with not an ounce of fat on that 6-foot-5, 200-pound frame of his, died in his campervan on the grounds of his church in Oak View.

Like more than 700,000 other Americans, he succumbed to complications from COVID-19. He had not been vaccinated.

Since no one had seen him for a few days, the date of death is said to be the day his body was found by his pastor, Oct. 5.

Relatives tell The Acorn they hope Fred’s death is a wake-up call to anyone on the fence about getting the COVID vaccine.

“I want my dad’s life to be a testimony, a lesson to everybody,” his oldest son, Apollo Bukowski, 35, of Simi Valley, told The Acorn.

“It would have saved his life, definitely,” said Fred’s 76-year-old brother, Jim Bukowski of Agoura Hills. “It’s foolish to ignore it, as my brother did.”

Fred was born Dec. 29, 1955, in San Diego. He grew up in Oxnard and attended St. Anthony’s Catholic School there, and then San Marcos High School in Santa Barbara.

He joined the Navy and saw the world, including Antarctica. He took a liking to the Philippines, where his wife of 35 years, Elizabeth Uy, lives in the home they built.

After retiring from the Navy, Fred moved to Thousand Oaks and worked for the U.S. Postal Service in Encino and was a longtime reservist at Point Mugu.

Apollo as well as Fred’s other son, Vincent, 29, of Durham, North Carolina, attended Westlake High School.

Those who knew Fred describe him as physically strong, a lifelong surfer with no underlying health issues. Apollo called him “a bit of free spirit and a roamer,” known to take off on his motorcycle for days at a time.

The youngest of four brothers, Fred “did quite an exotic bit of traveling,” said Jim. “He went to Antarctica, lived in Fiji, was assigned to the Philippines. Apollo was born in the Philippines. Fred sailed around Cape Horn on the (USS) Enterprise (aircraft carrier) where he was an aircraft maintenance enlisted man.”

Fred went to all of the national parks in the western U.S.

“He was an outdoorsman,” Jim said. “You couldn’t ask for a stronger human being at his age.”

Fred lived on a boat for a time, but most recently took up residence in his van at Calvary Chapel of the Ojai Valley in Oak View, where he was the caretaker and active member of the church.

In mid-September, Fred took a motorcycle trip to Oregon. He returned and reportedly showed no signs of illness until days before his death.

On Oct. 2, the pastor told Fred, out of an abundance of caution, to quarantine in his van. However, the next day, not knowing whether he had COVID, Fred went to the Sagebrush Cantina in Calabasas to see a Johnny Cash tribute band he’d worked as a roadie for and occasionally played with, the Mighty Cash Cats.

His church family knew Fred wasn’t doing well. Their fears were confirmed when the pastor went to Fred’s van Oct. 5 and found him dead.

Fred did get a COVID test, but the illness took him before he had a chance to read the email that confirmed he tested positive.

Apollo said his father was “a big thinker of the abstract. I remember being a kid in the Jacuzzi and we would have awe-inspiring conversations. We would have fun speculating about aliens. He would teach me science facts. My foremost passions—faith, surfing, music and outer space—he poured that down into me directly.”

Fred wasn’t “anti-vax,” Apollo said. “He just sort of thought he was immune and that his herbal teas would pull him through.”

“I had a few conversations to try to convince him” to get the vaccine, Apollo added. “I’m sad that I didn’t try harder. That’s a personal regret of mine.”

Among the last people to see Fred alive were the members of the Mighty Cash Cats. Frontman Michael J. Smith said Fred was the band’s roadie for three years.

“He was almost like the fifth member in a way,” Smith said. “When we met him, he was living on a sailboat. He was a really good fiddler. We let him sit in every once in a while. He just took to the band and started hanging. He would go to all the shows, assist with setting up and breaking down. He also got some really great videos.”

Fancy things didn’t matter that much to Fred, Smith said, including food. If the band played a gig where steak or tri-tip was served, Fred would insist on his favorites: fries or onion rings.

That’s how it was the last night they were all together.

“On Saturday (Oct. 2) we did a show in Oxnard,” said Smith. “He was with us, felt really good, loading in, loading out. . . . On Sunday, we played at the Sagebrush Cantina. He showed up, looked sick. I told him, ‘Go home. You shouldn’t have come down.’”

But Fred persisted.

Little did anyone know he’d be gone in just days.

“His last meal with us was a double order of french fries and onion rings,” Smith said. “They accidentally brought us an extra order.”

A week later, the band played in Big Bear, but there was no sign of Fred.

“I called him,” Smith said, “sent him a text the next day. He didn’t text me back. That wasn’t unusual. Sometimes, on the way up to a show, we’d get the call from Fred that he was coming.”

“He never asked for anything,” added Smith. “It was just a labor of love for him.”

Smith said Fred’s favorite song was Linda Ronstadt’s “Blue Bayou,” sung by the Mighty Cash Cats’ Leticia Blumette.

“Maybe it reminded him of the ocean,” Smith said. “When Leticia sang ‘Blue Bayou’ after we found out he died, it was like we felt his presence. I didn’t get into it with the crowd, but they could tell I felt a little uneasy.”

Smith said the band will perform that song along with the Johnny Cash gospel tune “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” as part of the set at Fred’s memorial service, planned for 5:30 p.m. Nov. 3 at Calvary Chapel of the Ojai Valley, 195 Mahoney Ave., Oak View. There will be full military honors.

A paddle-out in Fred’s honor will take place earlier in the day at one of his favorite surfing spots, Silver Strand Beach.

In addition to his siblings and sons, Fred Bukowski is survived by his mother, Virginia, 99, of Van Nuys.

“Fred was a one-of-a-kind guy,” Smith said. “You never heard him say a bad word about anyone. I call him the gentle giant.”

Follow Scott Steepleton on Twitter @scottsteepleton.