Adam Stawinski’s clarinet was his passion. Denver’s 16th Street Mall was his stage.

While buskers and street musicians come and go on the outdoor mall, Stawinski, once described as a roaming jukebox because of his repertoire of more than a thousand songs, was a familiar fixture downtown for more than two decades, belting out tune after tune to countless passers-by.

Stawinski, known as “Clarinet Man,” died of Alzheimer’s disease April 9 in the Highline Rehabilitation and Care Community, according to his daughter, Mary. He was 97.

“He knew about 600 songs by heart,” Mary Stawinski said. “He went every day to the mall, every single day.”

AUDIO: Listen to a track from an Adam Stawinski performance from 1983.

Born on Nov. 5, 1918, in Poland, Adam Stawinski immigrated as a child with his family to Pittsburgh.

He served in the U.S. Army during World War II in the Pacific theater.

Stawinski worked, and retired, as a door-to-door vacuum salesman. He excelled in the profession, at one point selling more than 100 vacuums during the course of a month.

“He was good at everything he did,” his daughter said.

Stawinski picked up the clarinet as a teenager, playing in numerous bands over the years, including an Army ensemble.

He moved to Denver in the mid-1970s and began playing downtown in the mid- to late-1980s, a few years after the mall’s opening.

“That was his life, and that was his love,” his daughter said, adding that he played the clarinet “to make people happy.”

Stawinski also frequented Blake Street, which runs by Coors Field, during baseball season, often wearing a Colorado Rockies cap with the bill pointed sideways and downward.

At age 83, Stawinski told The Denver Post that he was hitting his stride.

“I’m getting better now,” he said. “I’m practicing all the time.”

A mall passer-by, who often tipped Stawinski $20 for playing, once left him $100.

Initially, Stawinski played the mall standing up, eyes closed and tapping his left foot as people streamed by. A small, handmade sign inside an open suitcase announced cassettes — and, later, CDs — of his music for sale.

Among some of Stawinski’s more popular tunes were “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

Later, as Stawinski aged, he played sitting, then in a motorized cart and sometimes a wheelchair.

In 2004, a trio of people swiped Stawinski’s case filled with tips. There was about $20 in it, but when the three thieves were caught a short time later by a Denver police officer, they had only $5 among them.

“For you to steal it from me, you must have needed it more than me. So keep it,” said Stawinski at the time. He refused to press charges.

About seven years ago, a thug stole Stawinski’s open suitcase. Stawinski was punched in the face by the robber.

About six years ago, Alzheimer’s kept Stawinski from appearing downtown.

“He started getting lost coming home,” Mary Stawinski recalled.

Adam Stawinski was preceded in death by his wife, Jane, in 1998. They had 10 children, six boys and four girls. Of their children, six survive.

Burial with military rites, held Friday at Fort Logan National Cemetery, was attended by family and friends. Also in attendance were several strangers who had crossed paths with Stawinski as he performed on the mall.

“He was just a good man, never hurt anybody, never even cussed,” Mary Stawinski said. “Our family thanks his fans.”

Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822, knicholson@denverpost.com or @kierannicholson