Norwalk says good-bye to a pair of icons

Apr. 2—NORWALK — It was a sad week in Norwalk as two icons of the city were laid to rest.

Longtime Sheriff John Borgia was buried Saturday, while Stan Obrenovich was buried on Friday.

The two were opposites — Borgia maintained peace and security for the people of Huron County while Obrenovich liked to stir things up.

Obrenovich, 85, a businessman who owned buildings in uptown Norwalk, loved Norwalk — and he wasn't afraid to show it.

Sometimes he got a little carried away.

From his fight for parking spots and a loading space on the street, his fight over a tree on Main Street blocking the view of his restaurant — to his memorial bulletin board for Mayor R. Thomas Cochran, Stan "The Man" always found his way into the Norwalk Reflector.

Here, in his own words, is a partial list of what Stan said he did for the community.

—"I walked the Uptown on a weekly basis to keep people informed. Decisions were made by property owners and business people, not by out of town committees. In fact, the decision to call it Uptown was decided this way."

—"Paid for and installed the 'Welcome to Uptown' sign at each corner of our Uptown area."

—"Initiated lighting in the park. Kids at the rate of about 125 to 150 each got free pictures sitting with Santa. Major involvement in Christmas Programs Uptown for 15 years."

—"Instrumental in getting a flag pole commemorated, along with stone and lighting in Pohl Park."

—"Designed and built original Uptown number plaques. Reorganized revitalization 1998. Subsidized cost of $800 and installed for free."

—"Designed new plastic 'Our Town' number plaques."

—"Repaired Worker's Memorial on League Street. Recruited drive-it installer to resurface and paint memorial."

—"Received permission to install 'Home of Norwalk Raceway Park' signs at city limit locations. Sold Bill Bader Sr. on idea. He provided signs and we installed them."

—"Worked with Bulldog Art and Sign donating sign for Humane Society Cutest Pet Contest. Mounted a sign on my pick-up and drove it around throughout the contest."

—"Instrumental in designing Veterans Courtyard in front of the courthouse."

Obrenovich was born in Norwalk and served in the U.S. Army, followed by 20-plus years working in the railroad industry. He was a member of city council and he ran for mayor in 2001 against Brooks Hartmann.

A lot of people laughed at Obrenovich when his mayoral campaign started. It was hard to miss him and his pickup truck roaming the streets. It was hard to miss Obrenovich chasing down somebody to talk to him.

He talked about raising money for a new park on the north side of town. He said he would have no trouble raising more than $100,000 for the park.

"People will give me money to get rid of me," he told the Reflector with a laugh in a 2001 interview.

He was that kind of guy. He loved his town and nobody was going to get in his way.

Sheriff Borgia

Borgia, 92, served as Huron County Sheriff from 1961 to 1985.

He is being remembered as a consummate professional who loved his family and Huron County.

Borgia was hired as a Huron County Sheriff's deputy by former Sheriff Harry Broom. Following Broom's death, he ran for sheriff and was elected to the office of sheriff and served six successive terms.

Borgia worked as a deputy bailiff for former Norwalk Municipal Court Judge John Ridge before he retired.

"He loved Norwalk. He loved Huron County," Ridge said. "He did a great job as deputy bailiff. ... It was great to have him. He knew the whole county inside and out so it worked out great for us."

But Ridge said he also knew Borgia outside of work.

"I knew him well," Ridge said. "We also would play cards with him and his wife Audrey. He was a man of deep faith — very religious — just a wonderful man. He was always proud of his family, he loved to talk about his family. His family and faith were two of the most important things to him."

Terrie Sheen, who worked at the sheriff's office for 34 years, also worked for Borgia and she said he's the one who got her into law enforcement.

"He taught me the importance of community service and that has become a very important part of what I believe in and what I want to support," Sheen said.

She said Borgia's professionalism rubbed off on her.

"He made such an impact in how I think about things and how I handle things now," Sheen said. "He's been a good friend all these years."

Both loved their town and they will be missed.

Gone, but not forgotten.