We lost long time Checker friend Bobby Lowich, originally from Brooklyn, New York Bobby passed on Monday. According to Ben Merkel, Bobby entered hospice late in April and passed peacefully this week. Quite a character, Bobby was a hard boiled Checker taxicab driver who toiled in the streets of NYC for over 30 years.
Bobby’s ride
The highlight of his career was when he accepted an invitation from Morris Markin for lunch at the Waldorf. A celebrity driver, Bobby was sought out by the movers and shakers of NYC. He was on a first name basis with CBS’s Andy Rooney among others. A funny guy, he always had this writer in stitches. A NYC tough guy as tough as his Checker, he had no problem driving his Checker across the US, trips that most Checker fans might balk at taking.
Unfortunately he had been in pretty rough shape after suffering a stroke while pushing his Checker into a gas station during hurricane Sandy. He was a driver right up till the storm using a beat up 82 A11 Checker painted in Chicago colors running a livery service. RIP Bobby.
For more info on Bobby, please check out this great article about Bobby in the New Yorker magazine.
I knew Bobby, and he knew of my father. I almost bought his Checker that Heidi had up for sale in Sayreville, N.J. May he rest in peace. Checker owner and friend, Mike Kornspan, N.J.