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He returned home, took care of his "fur-kids", chatted on the
phone with friends about the show and then went to bed.
He passed away quietly in his sleep early Sunday morning.
His passing is a huge loss to his family, his friends and to the
cat fancy. He will be sadly missed.
Peter had been involved in the cat fancy - and Exotics in
particular - for more than 20 years.
He named his cattery Grandaries. He joked that he called it that
because he was an Aries himself, and he intended to produce lots of Grand
Champions. Peter like to think positively.
Peter purchased his first show cat in 1979 - a blue Persian male.
Just a year later the first litter of Grandaries Exotics were born... and Exotics
were his love from then on. Over the years, he bred solids, tabbies, colorpoints,
and most recently, bicolor Exotics.
For those who never met Peter, you missed knowing a wonderful guy.
He was smart, passionate, honest and witty, outspoken and gentle, loving and
generous. He was never afraid to voice an opinion and yet he was always willing
to listen to both sides of an issue.
In October of 2002, he wrote an article for PandEcats.com (the online
magazine devoted to Persians and Exotics) titled
"Keeping a Fresh Eye".
In it he shared his excitement at the new directions he was taking his breeding
program. In the article he discussed his philosophy of breeding with typical
Peter candor.
What makes his enthusiasm even more amazing was that the past
year had not been easy for Peter. Early in 2001, he had a stroke just a few days
after moving into a new home. He was hospitalized for weeks and was left
physically weakened and frail.
Every day he had visitors in the hospital, phone calls, and cards
from cat fancy friends telling him to "not give up".
Peter had been a wonderful and generous friend to so many people
in the cat fancy over the years, and now his friends rallied to help take care
of both him and his cats.
As he started along the road to recovery,Peter continued to enjoy
his hobby to the fullest with their help. His friends dropped off bags of litter
at his home, shopped for cat food, and delivered 4 litters of kittens. They
trimmed his kitties when he couldn't see properly. They bathed the kitties
when he was too weak to stand up to do it. They drove him to cat shows, carting
him in his wheelchair along with his cats and all their show paraphernalia.
It meant so much to Peter. And slowly he grew stronger.
Besides his beloved Exotics, Peter's other obsession was
pedigrees - and pedigree chasing. A passionate linechaser, his knowledge of
bloodlines was unsurpassed.
Peter had worked hard for years putting together a wonderful
database of pedigrees. In 2002 he shared the fruits of all his research by
creating an online database that included over 85,000 pedigrees that anyone
could use to research their own pedigrees.
This was so typical of Peter's generous nature. And what a
legacy he leaves to all the future breeders of Exotics and Persians!
The touching tribute above was written by Lee Harper, editor
of PandEcats.com.
In addition, PandEcats.com
has generously volunteered to assume the costs for the webspace needed to maintain Grandaries,
so that Peter's wonderful pedigree database can continue to be available - a legacy
for future breeders. As webmaster, I have volunteered to continue with all the necessary
maintenance, etc, needed to keep the site and database up and running.
A number of people have left wonderful messages, sharing memories
of Peter in his guestbook - please feel free to add to it.
If you have any questions or comments about the site, please
e-mail the webmaster.
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© 2001-2003 Grandaries Exotics & Persians Web design and maintenance by Ristokat Web Design | ||
On Saturday, January 18, 2003, Peter Romich was enjoying exhibiting his beloved
Grandaries Exotics at a show in Northern California. After a wonderful day at the
show, he left only needing 30 points to add another Grandaries grand to his
cattery's list of accomplishments.
