February 2003 Volume 84 Number 1 "serving the protectors"
A challenge met with courage
By Brett Williams

Obituary

Michael Nasalik
Detective
Born: August 15, 1966
Died: December 2, 2002

Michael Nasalik knew his time was short and had bravely accepted his fate. He never tried to refute the medical opinion that he would not live beyond 12 months from last October. With his renowned calm, the respected Sturt detective only spoke of living longer, perhaps for two years, as a possibility.

But, as he in any case faced death, he refused to turn from a burning ambition to set up a secure future for his young wife and infant children. He told the Police Journal last November that he was trying to cram outstanding jobs around the family home into “as short a time as I possibly can”.

Tragically, however, he was never able to realize his ambition in full. With his wife and parents at his bedside, he died in the Mary Potter Hospice on December 2, after only a nine-week battle with cancer. He was 36.

Hundreds of Nasalik’s police colleagues and friends packed the Heysen Chapel at Centennial Park to pay their last respects on December 6. Among the mourners were Police Association of SA president, Peter Alexander, Commissioner Mal Hyde and Deputy Commissioner John White.

In an emotional eulogy, Nasalik’s closest friends, police officers Paul Kolesnikowicz and Bill Economou, spoke of a private man devoted to his family.

“Naz was a genuine, caring, sincere and thoughtful person,” Mr Economou said. “He met his challenge with courage, strength and dignity.

“True to his nature, it was he who comforted us and gave us the strength and courage to face the battle with him. He was an inspiration to us all.”

Mr Economou also reflected on how his weakness as a swimmer drew help from Nasalik during their days as trainees at Fort Largs.

“His generosity was overwhelming,” he said. “He spent countless hours in his own time – when he could have been studying – trying to help me to swim so I could pass.”

At the end of the service, Nasalik’s police cap was removed from his flag-draped coffin and handed to his four-year-old daughter, Shanna.

Nasalik had joined the SA police force in 1984. He served terms as a patrol officer at Holden Hill and Norwood and, in the mid-1990s, joined the Southern Command Response.

After stints with the Vice and Gaming Task Force in the late 1990s, he transferred to Sturt CIB in October 2001. His supervisor, Detective Sergeant Kym Hand, described him as a man of real character and said he felt privileged to have worked with him.

“He was well-organized, dedicated and very persistent,” Sergeant Hand said. “He was good CIB-wise, because he always looked for potential problems.

“We worked on a murder back in December (2001). He took charge of the exhibits, enquiries and statements during the course of it (the investigation), and the result on that one was excellent. The way he did his exhibits has been taken off and copied by other people here.

“Apart from being sadly missed personally here, by all of us, he’s a loss to the CIB particularly.”

When Nasalik’s CIB peers learned of his condition, they immediately began to raise funds to send him and his family on a Gold Coast holiday. The fundraiser, which won support from the Police Association and 20 branches within SAPOL, brought in more than $10,000.

“The lesson here is that you need to focus on what really matters and spend time dealing with people issues,” said association president, Peter Alexander.

“There was tremendous support from the membership for this young man, and the way he faced his terminal illness and put his family first.

“That’s one of the great things about our culture: we do extend support to our membership.”

In late October, Sergeant Hand presented Nasalik with tickets for the trip. Nasalik, overwhelmed by the generosity of his colleagues – some of whom he had never even met – contacted the Police Journal.

He wanted the magazine to tell his story in the hope that it would express his deep gratitude to those who contributed to the fundraiser. He also hoped that, from the story, his colleagues would come to understand “how I sit with my condition.”

Sadly, Nasalik died on the same day as the release of the December Police Journal, and so never saw his story in print.

Nasalik was born in Prospect to Eastern European migrant parents, Michael and Julie. A lover of sport, the former Para Vista High School boy played school football, swam competitively and played soccer for clubs at Para Hills and Modbury.

He also enjoyed golf and fishing and had been a staunch Port Adelaide Power supporter. He often went to Power games with his father and particularly loved the Showdowns.

Nasalik is survived by his wife, Sam, four-year-old daughter, Shanna, and 18-month-old son, Harrison.

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