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John,

I am very saddened to hear your health has declined. You have been very helpful on the forums and I am pleased I was able to meet you in person in Las Vegas. You are one of a very few professionals in the field that actually took the time to try to help us out--especially us little guys/gals.

My best wishes to you. Please take comfort in knowing we all appreciate your contribution to our industry and our lives.

Donna

[This message has been edited by dsschoenborn (edited May 22, 2007).]

Well put BurneyFalls. These boards are host to alot of John's knowledge and kindness. Us little guys really appreciate people like John.

Hang in there John. You can pull thru this. We gotta keep ya on the payroll at Kodak!

John,

Thanks for all you have done for me and my theater. I have learned a great deal from you. I hope to learn more from you. You are in my thoughts as well.

Good luck.

Mike

Hey John!

I'm 75 years old and looking forward to owning my own place again. I will certainly need some advice. So don't go anywhere. Your advise is good (and inexpensive). You're in my prayers.

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Bob Allen
The Old Showman

Not good news, but don't quit John, We are ALL pulling for you and the big man upstairs may be monitoring the Forums as well as the studios! So keep fighting!

God Bless.

Tony.

John-

We go back a long way, maybe longer than you even realize. While growing up in the movie business, the most valuable resource I had to educate myself in the early 1980s about projection techniques was Kodak's Film Notes for Reel People. Much of that knowledge I still used today, for the benefit of my customers.

As a regular attendee of ShowEast and ShoWest, one of the nicest, most knowledgable people I have met over the years was John Pytlak. I can recall the frequent conversations we had after screenings, and the time we sat together through Paramount's THE HOLIDAY, even though the digital presentation was less than ideal.

John, you will leave behind a large footprint in this industry, and many friends such as myself will mourne your passing. I am deeply honored that you were able to visit my drive-in last year in May for the D-Cinema demonstration at the Transit.

I lost my father one week ago today after a long illness, and the ending for him was as much of a releif as it was a heartbreaking loss. You are leaving us much too soon, but such decisons are beyond our control. Life gives us many tests, and the last test is often the hardest. As for your dedication to the film industry, loyalty, friendship, and gentlemanly conduct, John Pytlak has aced those tests.

Most sincerely yours,

Rick Cohen
Transit Drive-in

I'm still "hanging in there". Even though my small intestine is now completely blocked by the tumors, I am able to drink enough water and juice to stay hydrated, along with twice-weekly IV hydration. But hospice will be soon.

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Customer Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: +1 585-477-5325 Fax: +1 585-722-7243
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

keep hangin' in there John. Makes my "problems" seem awfully trivial. God speed on a quick recovery.

John,

Though we've never met, I have come to respect and admire you. It is obvious that you are esteemed by your peers. You have achieved great things in your career.

But, a man is much more than his career and his professional achievements. And though the knowledge you've shared here is often technical in nature, we can see from your posts and the posts about you that you are a kind and generous person. You always seem to help others no matter how unlikely the connection would be between you and them. Your character shines through. And much more clearly can the people see you who are close to you. When you are no longer with us, it will be your personality and character that people will remember. So, you can rest assured that people will remember you with kind thoughts.

In the face of this terrible disease, perhaps you realize that there is good with the bad. One gift you have been granted is time... time to reflect... time to introspect... and time to experience the love and friendship of those who care about you. There is time to find comfort in your faith. My prayer for you is that you do find peace and comfort in Him and that your friends and family will also.

God Bless You.

Last week a reporter called from my hometown newspaper. Tony Troidl gave him my name, as I had been projectionist at the Grandview Drive-In in Angola NY, which might be torn down to build a WalMart Superstore. He ended up also writing an article about my career at Kodak:
http://www.thesunnews.net/sunscene.php3?idkey=6590

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Customer Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: +1 585-477-5325 Fax: +1 585-722-7243
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

[This message has been edited by John Pytlak (edited June 29, 2007).]

Nicely done!

I'm glad maybe some of your former classmates might see it and remember you!

Take care John.

Hello All! I've just had a "near death experience":

I just spent two days in the hospital (Thursday and Friday, July 26-27)
after a very scary event on Wednesday evening.

Our older daughter Katie had been spending the week in Rochester from Boston with us to
help out. I had purchased a new Toshiba notebook computer system (with Windows Vista Home Premium) that was delivered earlier in the week, and had unpacked it. I was getting ready for bed at about 10:00pm Wednesday, and noticed some of the empty boxes were
still in the side hall. I took one small box into the garage through the swinging storm door and down two steps. No problem, although my legs are getting quite weak and wobbly from loss of body mass, especially since mid May (down to 115 pounds from a pre-cancer weight of 172 pounds). The second
empty box was large and bulky, so I decided to gently pull it backward through the swinging door. The last thing I remember is pulling on the box as I backed through the door. The next is the Ambulance EMT crew
strapping me to a flat board with a neck brace, and shining lights into my
eyes, probably 7-10 minutes later.

Katie heard the crash, and was the first to find me, flat on my back, totally unconscious on the cement floor of the garage. She says I was not breathing, and she began gentle chest compression and mouth-to-mouth
resuscitation. Younger daughter Annie helped too, while my wife Betsy called 911 for
the ambulance. Katie says I started breathing on my own in 30-40 seconds, and after a few
minutes was groggily talking to her. The back top right side of my head was
bleeding profusely from a deep ragged gash where I had hit my head during the fall backward onto the garage floor. I also had some abrasion along my back.

The Ambulance EMT crew was great. Our neighbor is an EMT, got the call, and ran right down to our house. After securing and
checking me out, the ambulance crew rushed me to the hospital where I have been going since my illness began last September. Betsy rode in the ambulance, and our good neighbors gave Katie and Annie a ride to the hospital. At the hospital, they cleaned the head
wound. It took six stitches to close the ragged gash. They took x-rays to
look for rib or back injury, and a head CT scan. The head CT scan showed some fluid buildup on the right side of the brain, and there was a bit of weakness and tingling in my left foot. They prescribed a strong cortisone type drug to help reduce the brain swelling, and I spent the next two days
in the hospital to heal, build my strength, and recoup a bit. Katie's
husband Jim and our grandson Ben drove in from Boston, and visited me in the hospital to cheer me, along with the constant daytime presence of Betsy, Katie and Annie in
shifts. Before being released, I had some PT to be sure I could walk with the help of a walker, and even climb stairs with rails. Even though I can walk and climb stairs slowly, my muscle weakness and the weaker left side (I drag my left foot a bit) require that someone walk with me to steady me and
be sure I don't fall down again.

I came home from the hospital late Friday afternoon (July 27). Saturday, a
visiting home nurse checked my vital signs and redressed the head wound. Then a physical therapist gave me a home evaluation of my capabilities with a walker and stairs, and agreed that until I am more steady on my feet, I need someone to walk with me. It looks like I will still be able to travel
to the local cancer clinic for my regular IV hydration on Tuesdays and Fridays. Everyone agrees that I not try to do too much on my own, especially never stairs into the garage or basement, lest I take another bad
fall.

My sister and her husband visited Saturday, while the nurse and PT were here, and then
spent most of the afternoon. It was an enjoyable visit, making Saturday a very full day. Katie, Jim and Ben drove back to Boston Saturday evening, as Jim has to work at his high school's summer retreat starting Sunday evening and for the week, and Katie is working half time at her campus ministry job
at Boston College.

I am getting back on a normal schedule. I am able to have a "clear liquid" diet, which includes water, fruit juice, Jello, broth, and other clear liquids without bulk. Unfortunately, the complete intestinal blockage precludes more calorie-rich liquids like Boost or Ensure or soups. So at
most, I am getting only about 500 calories per day, and likely to continue losing weight and strength. Fortunately, last week after several days of severe vomiting, I was prescribed Protonix to stop stomach acid, and it has somehow also helped greatly reduce the vomiting that I had been having to throw up digestive juices. So I am able to hold down these clear liquids and my medicines. For now, I am sleeping downstairs, in a fully adjustable hospital bed set up in our family room, right next to a comfortable recliner, both facing my new HD television -- a pretty nice setup. (But I still miss getting to see movies on a big theatre screen).
Annie has been comuting each evening from her job in Buffalo, and plans to sleep downstairs if I need any help during the night.

I also spend time at the computer. Jim was able to set up my new notebook computer, and transfer most of the files and set it up on a wireless home network, and my plans are to complete the transfers from my old (Windows ME) system during the next week. In five years, I've accumulated over 5000 Kodak
digital photos, that are now backed up to a separate USB hard drive, and tranferred to the new computer. I've always been a "pack rat" like my Dad (my basement is still filled with hundreds of boxes and files), and my
computer files are no exception.

Well, as you can see, I've had quite a week! Katie jokes that she intends to write a book about her father's "nine lives" of experience since last September. In reality, everyone's prayers and good wishes have seen me through alot, and cheered me along the way this past year. I've gotten to see and play with my wonderful first grandchild Ben many times, I've just celebrated my 59th birthday, and now I've survived a near death experience
(no, I didn't "see the light"). I'm ready for death, but life is certainly still worth living. Like the Engergizer Bunny, I keep on going.

Please keep those prayers and good wishes coming.

Sincerely,

John Pytlak

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John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Customer Technical Services
Entertainment Imaging
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7525A
Eastman Kodak Company
Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Telephone: +1 585-477-5325 Fax: +1 585-722-7243
E-Mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website: http://www.kodak.com/go/motion

You're an inspiration, John! Hang in there - you've got thoughts and prayers coming your way!