Karen posted a condolence
Friday, September 15, 2017
I am one of Sebastian's many nieces. Sebastian has always been an inspiration for me, and encouraged me to live life to the fullest, the way that he did, and find my own unique expression in the world. He has touched the lives of so many people through his music and travels—hundreds of thousands of people. I remember going through Lake Louise on a road trip and stopping in to see him at the Chateau he was playing at. He finished the song and then took a break right away so we could visit a bit. So I can picture him playing there, and the many people who enjoyed his presence and his music. He said everyone asks for Blue Danube, but they don't really know what it is and it is 11 minutes long! But of course he was so good natured, he played it anyway. Like Kim said, we loved listening to his records as children, especially Pepsi Was a Chicken. He visited us at the house on Portland Street in Burnaby (which used to be the Fichtl's house; my parents Erwin and Donnette bought it from Irma and Sebastian in 1967, when Kim was born) shortly after Elvis died in 1977. He was very sad about the death of the King, and gave us a poster of Elvis. My deepest condolences to Sebastian's children and grandchildren. A bright light has gone out of the world. He lives on in our memories, and there are some wonderful videos of him playing zither on YouTube.
