Captain Werner Jurinka, Navy Fellow 1999-2000
The United States Navy lost an esteemed officer and the Fletcher Community lost a dear friend and mentor on January 30, 2009. Captain Werner Jurinka died after returning to his command following a routine Navy physical readiness test. He was serving as Director of Staff for a naval NATO Command in Naples, Italy. Capt. Jurinka’s passing came as a shock to friends and co-workers, who knew him as a healthy, young man.
Captain Werner Jurinka, a native of Silver Spring, Maryland, obtained his naval commission through the Penn State NROTC program in 1987. During his career with the Navy, Werner served around the world in roles of increasing responsibility. In addition to his naval commands, he earned an MBA from Troy State University, completed Naval War College JPME 1 education, and attended Fletcher as the 1999-2000 Navy Fellow.
Since leaving Fletcher, Werner served as Executive Officer of the USS Hopper, based out of Hawaii, with a follow-on assignment on the Navy Staff in Washington, D.C. He then served as captain of the USS Paul Hamilton before transferring to serve aboard the USS Ronald Reagan. In the summer of 2008, he moved to Naples, Italy to serve in the NATO Allied Maritime Component Command. The Fletcher Community extends its heartfelt condolences to Werner’s family, including his wife Hannah, son Austin, and stepdaughters, Molly and Lilly.
Class of 2001’s Tribute to Captain Werner Jurinka
The Fletcher Community was blessed to have Werner join us as the Navy Fellow for the 1999-2000 school year. We carry his gigantic personality, his broad smile, and, of course, his beloved Hawaiian shirts, in our fondest memories of our time at Fletcher. He opened his heart to us, and we couldn’t help but open our hearts to him.
As we all know, The Fletcher School brings together a diverse group of people with varied backgrounds, interests, and levels of professional and life experience. Within this environment, Werner effortlessly reached out and befriended us regardless of our background or our interests for the future. He helped draw us together into a community that remains one of the closest groups that most of us have ever been a part of.
In addition to being a great friend, he was also a mentor to many of us. His ability to bring others together to address a common purpose, whether it was a homework problem set, the Fletcher Ball, or a night out at the Powderhouse Pub, set him apart as a model that many of us still follow whenever we face a challenge. Werner combined his passion for life with an ease in its pursuit. The result was a leadership style that greatly enriched the world around him. In this way, his positive impact on our community was immeasurable. Our class at Fletcher was a collection of hard driving and successful Type A personalities who all learned about leadership from a smiling guy in a Hawaiian shirt.
After Fletcher, many of us had the opportunity to meet up with Werner in one corner of the globe or another. Regardless of whether you were among those in consistent contact with him or one of those who hadn’t seen him since our days on Packard Avenue, you knew that every time you saw Werner, it would be like you’d never parted. His warm heart and kind smile ensured that old connections would be instantly reestablished. And we all felt better… safer… knowing that there was this bright force of a man out there, leading the men and women in the US Navy and representing the United States to the world with that same warmth and kindness he had shown all of us.
Please send your thoughts and remembrances of Werner to FletcherPR@tufts.edu and they will be added to this story.
Dulce Carrillo, F01
I will always have fond memories of a great bear of a man with a constant smile in an Aloha shirt and shorts spreading lots of laughs. It's people like Werner that make a community.
Gregg Nakano, F01
When I arrived at Fletcher, I had been extremely active in the alternative/indie rock scene. I had a music review website (it was the days before blogs!) and had been a DJ, programming manager, and ultimately the station manager of a college rock radio station. I had a link to my website in my email signature, and Werner and I got to talking about music at one point. It turned out he had a subscription to CMJ, the College Music Journal, which is a trade journal dedicated to alternative rock, music promotions, and non-commercial radio. This simply blew me away - a Navy commander who was subscribing to a college rock trade journal? He would share his copies of CMJ with me and we periodically traded CDs for listening. While Werner and I didn't stay in touch after he departed after his military fellowship, I always enjoyed our chats and was impressed by the breadth of his interest and enthusiasms! And, of course, the Hawaiian shirts. Definitely remember the shirts.
Michael Zwirn, F01
One of my favorite Fletcher memories is a class I took with Werner, or more accurately, the commute to the class. It was a joint Fletcher/KSG class that was conducted on Harvard’s campus. As it turned out, Werner and I tended to make the commute from Fletcher to KSG together…we’d take the Tufts bus to Davis Square and then the T to Harvard Square. During these commutes, Werner and I had a lot of time to talk about our past experiences, our time at Fletcher, and our plans for the future. Often, these discussions continued into lunch after the class.
I loved to hear about his experiences in the Navy and was impressed by everything he had already done professionally. I was even more impressed with how he approached life and his career. He viewed life as an exciting adventure and took advantage of every day. He quickly became a model for me on getting the most out of life.
His was a bright light. I miss my friend Werner.
Leslie Kuechenmeister O’Brien, F01
I've been trying to think of words to honor our friend Werner and have decided what better than to use his own words. Please see below a copy of an email that Jen and I received from him after we sent out the birth announcement of our son - Werner Eikren Norrbom. As you can see, he was quite pleased to see our choice of name, but the message also portrays some of the great qualities that Werner's friends spoke of in his eulogy. Namely, Werner was a wonderful fun-loving soul (as we all remember fondly from our Fletcher times with him); he made and maintained friendships for life; and he had the unique trait of telling his friends that he was proud of us. Of course, we are the ones that are proud of what he accomplished in his life and will miss him very much.
Clay; Congratulations on your son and for your grandfather's cool name!
That is absolutely fantastic news and Hannah and I are very happy. I
thought for sure it would be Starr Farve Norrbom but I realize you did
marry a Vikings fan and some compromises must be made... besides
Tarkenton just doesn't go with anything. BTW, next Monday... Vikes vs.
the Pack at Lambeau!
I'm loving life out here on the ship... it's good to be king! That
said, I did just return from a deployment and am spending most of my
time lately doing short local trips for training. Attached is a cool
photo of the ship taken during the deployment, off the coast of the
Philippines.
Spoke with Rob Blair the other day... turns out I gave a tour to a Hill
staffer he knows while they were out in Hawaii on "business". It's
amazing how many folks from DC need to do "fact finding" in Hawaii as
soon as winter starts.
Please give my best to Jen and again, I am very proud of you both and
want to wish you the heartiest congratulations on the birth of the son
with possibly the coolest name there is! Hang in there and I hope to
see you three soon!
Aloha -Werner (the other one)
P.S.- Give me your latest address... we'll send you an appropriate
Hawaiian baby gift
Clay Norrbom, F01, and Jen Eikren, F01
Werner was a warm and thoughtful classmate who was fully present and connected in his conversations. The last time Sam and I saw him at a Fletcher gathering in D.C., Werner shared happy thoughts about his ship in San Diego. Our sincere condolences to his family and loved ones.