Colin Stefan Ptak

Colin Stefan Ptak, beloved parent, husband, son, brother, nephew, cousin, and friend died unexpectedly Saturday, June 25, 2022, at the age of 39 in Morioka, Japan. He is survived by his wife Tsukasa, his cherished children Christopher Marcel, age 5 and Ryan Elliott, age 2 of Sendai, Japan, his father Richard Ptak and his mother Diana Klein Ptak of Amherst, NH, his sister Jennifer Turner and brother-in-law Karl Turner and niece Meghan Rebecca Turner of Norman, Oklahoma, his brother Justin Ptak of Jacksonville Beach, Florida, his brother Todd Ptak and sister-in-law Muriel Ptak of Toulouse, France, as well as extended family, Stacy Beaule and her son Kyle Boucher and her husband Roland Beaule, Jr. of Milford, NH, and his many aunts, uncles, cousins and close family friends from around the world.

He is predeceased by his paternal grandparents Louis and Helen Ptak of Western Springs, Illinois, his maternal grandparents Albert and Dorothy Klein of San Bernardino, California and his niece Elsinore Ptak of Toulouse, France.

Colin was born in Nashua, NH on June 30, 1982, shortly after his family moved there from the Chicago area. At the age of 2 years, the family moved to Geneva, Switzerland where he went to the École Internationale de Genève for three years. When learning to ski in the Alps, he refused to master ‘turning’, preferring to careen straight down the mountain to the terror and delight of all who watched from below. From there, the family moved to Grasse, France where Colin attended the American International School of Nice on the Côte d'Azur for four years. Colin was an independent thinker. Once in French class, with a substitute teacher who was American, he announced that he didn’t need to answer questions in French with her because she knew English, illustrating his bold and tenacious spirit. He returned to the family home in Amherst, NH at the age of 10 years. While attending Souhegan High School, he became fascinated with Japanese culture and art, including the films of Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu. This led to making ninja movies with friends and becoming a big fan of eating Sushi, a surprise to those remembering the boy who for so long only ate hot dogs, “tacos” (but with only ground beef) and McDonald's Chicken McNuggets. His favorite Japanese meal became unagi (grilled eel), a delicacy that he introduced to his family.

Colin was the youngest of four children, but that just meant that he grew up faster, watching his older siblings. He went through Cub Scouts before he was old enough to join as he accompanied his Mom when she ran the program overseas. Eventually he got bored and quit, as he wanted to do the things his Boy Scout brothers and his Scout Master Dad did. He was more tech savvy than most, building his first computer from scratch rather than buying a new one. He was graduated from the University of New Hampshire in 2004, with dual Bachelor’s degrees in English and Economics. While in Durham, he roomed in the international dorm, Smith Hall, where he felt right at home, making new friends with students from around the world.

After college, Colin realized his dream to live and work in Japan, teaching English at a business school in Tokyo while living in Yokohama. After two years in Japan, he moved to Australia's Gold Coast before moving back to the US. After a stint working for Fidelity Investments in Merrimack, New Hampshire and some travel in the US, he returned to Japan, this time being hired by the Japanese school system to teach English in two junior high schools in Hanamaki. He was there during the Tsunami in 2011 and described his experience in an article published by the Milford Cabinet. He met his wife shortly thereafter. They initially lived in Morioka and just before the Covid-19 pandemic, they moved to Sendai. He was great with his students and brought a fun element to learning English. It wasn’t unusual to see him walking in the school corridors, high-fiving his students, engaging them to speak English even when not in class.

Colin never outgrew his love of toys. With two sons, he reveled in their new acquisitions and everything vintage that he had enjoyed as a child. Video games - whether Sega, Nintendo, PlayStation or whichever were all part of his downtime -eventually sharing that joy with Christopher. We all remember his antics years ago with a game on the Wii called “Samba di Amigo” and laughing at his exaggerated dance moves playing the game.

He loved classical literature and poetry. One of his favorite authors was Marcel Proust. He loved music, being a big fan of indie rock like his brothers and their shared favorite musicians such as Elliott Smith and the Lucksmiths. He developed a love for karaoke; his ‘go to’ song was the B-52’s “Love Shack”, which his siblings wish they could sing as well as he could!

He also enjoyed art books, especially anime. That love of visual effects led him to pursue art himself. First, he excelled at photography - taking macro shots of flowers and bugs, even winning competitions. Next, he found beauty in the photographs he took of sights around Japan and later he turned to painting and taught himself how to use charcoal and water colors to capture those images, which he would often turn into postcards and send to family members. Many a time we were impressed at his finished works. Lately he had taken up the exacting art of painting miniature figures from the Warhammer Fantasy Series.

Colin always had his own unique fashion sense. At an early age, Colin would only wear comfortable sweatpants or skater shorts – not jeans or slacks of any kind - usually accompanied by his brothers’ bigger t-shirts. Yet surprisingly, as he got older, he developed his own sophisticated and dapper style – a dress shirt, bright tie, sweater or sweater vest and khaki pants.

He maintained interest in U.S. politics and always made sure he filled in his absentee ballot for elections. He attended the Mises Institute University week-long summer seminar in Auburn, Alabama early on and felt strongly about the insights revealed by the Austrian School of Economics, like his brothers.

Colin was the best of all of us, kind, sweet and compassionate. He had a “joie de vivre” that was contagious. He was fun loving, even making a game (and sometimes a joke - at least with his brothers) of giving Christmas presents to his family. In all the photos taken of him over the years, one would be hard-pressed to find even one where he is not smiling, unless he is making a silly face. His passing leaves a hole that can not be filled in many lives. We all will remember the Colin we knew and loved, some of us by his nicknames which stuck into adulthood: Collie Doodle, Holmes, Gunga Din, Goo-Goo, Goobidahead, and Spacha Monkey.

Ugga Mugga, Colin.

A graveside service will be held on July 22, 2023 at 11:00 AM in the Meadowview cemetery, Foundry Street, Amherst, NH.  All are invited to meet directly at the cemetery.  A celebration of his life will follow at the Ptak Family Home, 26 Blood Brook Road, Amherst, NH.  RSVP to Diana at deeptak@aol.com