JIM "CHAINSAW"
McCULLOCH PASSES AWAY ON SEPTEMBER 18, 2006
My former teammate and friend, Jim "Chainsaw" McCulloch, passed away
after a long illness on September 18th, 2006. Jim attended a couple of
camps in the mid 90's and then played in several tournaments in the Southern
California area where he lived. My memories of Jim include the time he
played in a game in San Diego while his then 10 year old umpired the bases.
Jim was always smiling and just loved being on the field. Even during his
illness, Jim lived vicariously through us by reading every email and web update
we sent out. He frequently sent me updates on his condition some of which
I shared with you all from time to time.
Jim is survived by his wife, Karen, and their two children. Karen emailed
to thank us all for our support. Pneumonia proved to be too much for his
system. Karen said he always wanted to get back on the field with us and
that at his funeral, his Giants jersey was displayed. She told those in
attendance that baseball was his first love and that the jersey represented
that.
If anyone would like to send Karen their condolences, you can email her at
kmcc1129@aol.com.
TOM
HALLER PASSES AWAY ON NOVEMBER 26, 2004
As many of you know from the email updates sent by
camper Dennis Healey, our good friend and former Giant catcher Tom
Haller had been ill for quite some time. It is believed he contracted
the West Nile virus during a trip to Colorado. After a long struggle, Tom
passed away on November 26th in Los Angeles. He is survived by his wife
Joan and their two children, Tom Jr. and Tim.
Cards can be sent to the home at:
75-315 Montecito Drive
Indian Wells, CA 92210
E-mails can be sent to them at Hallers2@aol.com.
In lieu of flowers, the family would like donations
to go to the scholarship fund at Marywood Country Day School (where Tom was
active as the past President of the Board of Trustees) or to St. John's Lutheran
Church. The addresses are as follows:
Marywood Country Day School
72-850 Clancy Road
Rancho Mirage, CA 92270 |
St. John's Lutheran Church
42-695 Washington Street
Palm Desert, CA 92211 |
Former Dodger General Manager and current MLB.com
correspondent Fred Claire wrote a nice tribute to Tom which has appeared on
both the Giants' and Dodgers' web sites. Take a read at:
Fred Claire on Tom Haller - 12/1
GIANTS' BOB SIMON PASSES
AWAY ON SEPTEMBER 12TH, 2003
Bob Simon, Michael's dad and our baseball teammate at
many a camp and tournament, passed away on the evening of
September 12th after a long illness.
Services were held at Holy Angels Catholic Church in Colma on September 16th
and 17th.
Virginia, Bob's wife, has requested that donations in lieu of flowers be made
to Holy Angels Building Fund or the San Francisco Giants Community Fund.
The church can be reached at:
Holy Angels Catholic Church
107 San Pedro Road
Colma, CA 94015
650-755-0478
Bob's obituary can be found below:
Robert Simon
Being called to the eternal baseball game in heaven on Friday September 12,
2003, Robert will be continue to keep his scouting eye on his loving wife
Virginia, brother Joseph, sister-in-law Debbie, sons Michael, Donald and
Gregory, daughters-in-law Cheryl, Cathy and Angie, grandchildren Corey, Jason,
Matthew, Alex, Marie, and Ben, niece Frances and assorted ranks of cousins and
former teammates.
Born in San Francisco and raised in the Richmond District, Robert attended St
Monica’s, Sacred Heart, spent time in the Navy; including time on the USS
Anderson, and completed his Business Degree at USF.
He devoted much of his life to making a difference in the lives of people he
met. He was a lifetime member of the Knights of Columbus, taught CCD at Holy
Angels for 33 years, was a coach and Athletic Director at Holy Angels, and
worked in various capacities for the Daly City Recreation Department. He served
in various capacities including Cub Master and Scout Master for Packs 259 and
Troop 259. He was a positive influence in the lives of a majority of the young
men and women in Daly City from both private and public schools.
Robert loved all sports but was particularly active in baseball, softball and
basketball. He played baseball and basketball at Sacred Heart and was offered a
minor league contract after a 1957 tryout at Seals Stadium. He chose a business
career instead, but played countless semi-pro games for the Jefferson’s, My Pet
Market, and the San Francisco Old Timer’s Baseball Association. He helped
organize the San Francisco Advertising Softball League and also played in their
basketball league for several years. He attended the Giants Fantasy Camp in 1992
and continued to play baseball through the year 2000 as his health would allow.
GIANTS' LES GROOBIN PASSES
AWAY ON AUGUST 20TH, 2003
On Wednesday,
August 20th, the world lost a great man when our
friend Les Groobin was killed in a car accident near
Parker, Arizona. He is survived by his wife Linda and his
children Scott, age 18, and Chrissy, age 16. Les was driving
his son Scott down to the University of Arizona where he was to
start school. Scott survived the accident and is back at
home with his mother. The memorial
service was held on Sunday, August 31, 2003 from 1 p.m. to 4
p.m. at the Walnut Creek Civic Park Community Center,
1375 Civic Dr. Walnut Creek.
Randy Wallace was the
master of ceremonies for much of the memorial service and some
other former teammates of Les spoke as well. Several
other things were done to honor Les:
Mike Marks now has some
bat patches similar to the ones made for Paul Roman and Barry Berman.
This will be made available at future tournaments for $1.Lapel pins with Les' #13 were available at
the service.
Les' Giants warm-up jacket from Lodi was
available for us to sign at the service.
DODGERS' BARRY BERMAN PASSES AWAY
ON JULY 12TH, 2003
Another member of our baseball fraternity has passed away.
Barry Berman from the Dodgers, who has successfully run our
annual Bakersfield tournament since the early 1990's, was
shot to death by his ex-wife early on the morning of Saturday,
July 12. Barry was one of the people who understood what our
tournaments were all about . . friendship and camaraderie. He
loved baseball and he loved to laugh. He made sure that those
who attended his events had a good time. Once Barry was
introduced to you, he didn't need to be told your name a second
time. Working with him to put any event together has always been
a pleasure and not a chore. He will most certainly be missed.
Many of you met Barry's fiancee, Kay, in either Bakersfield, Fresno, or San
Diego this year. They were to be married at home plate during Dodger Fantasy
Camp this coming November. I have included a note from her about Barry's
death:
---
Dear All,
Hopefully, before you read this is the newspaper, this can prepare you for
the tragic news.
Barry, my fiancee, was shot and killed by his ex-wife, Marilyn, yesterday.
She had called Barry the day before to ask him to reset the sprinkler system.
After she killed him, she shot herself a few times and is in a hospital.
We were to be married in Florida at the Dodger Fantasy Training Camp at home
base on November 7th of this year.
Only with God's help, my family and friends am I making it though this time.
I'm having trouble from time to time trying to speak. Please be patient.
For my AA friends, I'm doing my best to stay in the now by the Grace of God.
The steps. The steps.
I'll let you know when the funeral will be held.
Namaste, Kay Lewis
An ANGEL IN YOUR POCKET...
PAUL ROMAN
(February 21, 1949 - June 18, 2002)
Hello all -
I have some
very difficult news to report. This morning, at 5:25 a.m., Paul Roman passed
away in his sleep. His wife Jackie said she is unsure at this point what the
exact cause of death is, but it is believed to be a massive heart attack. The
paramedics said things happened very quickly and that Paul had no extended
suffering.
For those of
you who didn't know Paul, he was a fixture at Giants tournaments since the early
90's. In fact, he played his final game this past Father's Day at Santa Clara
High School. He caught the majority of the game and had us laughing with his
wisecracks the whole game. Most of you know Paul for bringing music and
announcing to our baseball events and he recently set up his own company, Music
My Way, shortly after retiring from a successful high tech career. Paul
provided the sound for this past year's fantasy camp in Arizona and was a big
hit with the campers and the pros.
He always
looked at things in a positive light and loved getting up every morning to greet
the day's events. I feel fortunate to have called him my friend.
Rob Weber
