As reported in 160719 MMDigest, John Hovancak of Dodgeville, Wisconsin,
was killed in a collision with a semi on a rural Wisconsin highway on
July 14th.  John had been a close friend since 1971.  His unexpected
passing is a shock to everyone who knew him well.

John and his associate Dan Meuer, also of Dodgeville, performed 23
major restorations for the Sanfilippo collection since 1981, including
band organs, dance and fairground organs, coin pianos, and orchestrions.
John and I worked together tuning and servicing the collection (except
for the pipe organ) ever since, with Jerry Biasella joining us in the
1990s.  We all grew up in the southern suburbs of Chicago and had each
begun our respective careers working with Dave Ramey Sr. and Tom Sprague
at Svoboda's Nickelodeon Tavern and in Dave's own shop in the 1960s and
'70s.

One of John's greatest achievements was the restoration of the Welte
Wotan orchestrion that was first rescued from the Bois Blanc (Bob-lo)
Island Amusement Park by Howard Hynne, and acquired by Jasper Sanfilippo
in 1987.  Starting with the main chassis, pump and drive mechanism, pipe
chest, roll mechanism, drums, orchestra bells and some of the pipes,
John and Dan brought this great treasure back to its original glory,
completing the job in 1996.  Their last major restoration for the
collection was the stunning 66-key Limonaire fairground organ, an audio
recording of which had been used in the soundtrack of Martin Scorsese's
film "Hugo".

Prior to working for Jasper Sanfilippo, John and Dan built several of
the most successful fantasy displays for Alex Jordan at The House on
the Rock, including the "Mikado" organ, which remains the most popular
music machine there today.  It was there that John learned the most
durable restoration techniques.  This has been shown by the fact that
the instruments he restored for the Sanfilippo Collection continue to
play beautifully after decades of use, rarely needing servicing beyond
normal tuning, cleaning, and lubricating.  John also restored instruments
for the Gilson Collection, and previously did major work on the acoustic
division of the organ in The Timbers restaurant, Platteville, Wisconsin.

John is survived by his daughter, Cassandra Hovancak (Brooklyn, New
York); his son, Joshua Hovancak (Montfort, Wisconsin); and a sister,
Nina Sparger (South Holland, Illinois).

We will all miss John greatly.

Art Reblitz
Colorado Springs, Colorado