Tuesday, July 28, 2015

Candice Anne Roberts Adermatt, BHS 1965

Candice Anne Adermatt, 67, born on September 28, 1947, in Ohio, passed away June 18, 2015, following a long battle with cancer. Services have already been held and I have no additional information. She resided in La Verne, California at the time of her passing. Arrangements are under the direction of Forest Lawn, Covina, California.

Sunday, July 26, 2015

Robert "Bob" Blair Laverty, BHS 1945

Robert "Bob" Laverty 88, of Yreka .............. Siskiyou Daily News, Yreka, CA, Wednesday, April 29, 2015................... Robert "Bob" Blair Laverty, a longtime resident of Siskiyou County, passed away peacefully on March 4, 2015, from complications associated with Parkinson's disease at his home in Carmel, California, where he had recently moved, surrounded by his family. ...................... Bob was born in Los Angeles to Blair and Mary Laverty in 1927. After his father's untimely death, Bob and his sister, Mary, were raised by their mother and loving stepfather, Paul DeMers. ........................ Bob graduated from Burbank High School in 1945 and then enlisted "until victory" in the U.S. Navy for the duration of World War II. He served in the Pacific as a signalman, but always humbly and quickly pointed out that, thankfully, he did not see combat. Following the war and after completing an associate degree in communications at Los Angeles City College, Bob relocated to Mount Shasta to work for KWSD as a radio announcer. He hosted one of the first jazz programs in far Northern California................................ Bob met his future wife and love of his life, Leslie Miles, there and they married in 1953. Bob and Leslie's first child, Robin, was born in 1954 and their second, Mary Ann, was born in 1956. The family moved to Yreka in 1963 and grew with the birth of Erin in 1968 and Philip in 1969. Bob had a long career in the insurance industry, beginning with New York Life. He later became an agent with State Farm Insurance. He received numerous awards from State Farm during his career of over 30 years, including the Crystal Excellence Award - the highest honor an agent can receive for the overall quality of his or her business. He had a sincere commitment to the well-being and financial security of his clients. Running his business ethically wasn't just a business model for him; his deeply-held values epitomized how he lived his life. Bob retired from State Farm in 1995. ......................... Bob was generous and civic-minded, dedicating much of his time to community organizations. He mentored many young men as a Boy Scout leader and Little League coach. He was a coordinator for dances at the Teen Club through the Mount Shasta Recreation Department. He later served as president of Siskiyou County Youth Baseball. In Yreka, he was the treasurer for the Kiwanis Club for many years, helping to organize Kiddies Day, Easter egg hunts, and fundraising activities......................... Bob was committed to the welfare and protection of rights for vulnerable children and served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) after his retirement. He was a founding board member of CASA of Siskiyou County and volunteered at the Broadway Flea, a benefit shop for CASA. He also served on the board of directors of the Siskiyou Training and Employment Program (STEP). In addition to volunteering his time and expertise for many organizations, Bob supported numerous charities and causes, particularly for children's rights, hunger, performing arts, hospice, medical research, and the protection of the environment....................... Bob was a longtime and active parishioner of St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Yreka. He served as a Eucharistic Minister, taught catechism, and was a member of the Knights of Columbus. Bob also served on the finance committee, helped organize yearly retreats for Catholic men, and was the chair of the sesquicentennial celebration of St.Joseph's in 2005...................... Bob was a kind and beloved husband and father who were profoundly dedicated to his family. He was loved and adored by his family, and will be dearly missed. He is survived by his four children and their spouses: Robin Laverty-Reves and John Reves, Mary Ann Laverty and Roland Enaillo, Erin Healy and Tom Healy, and Philip Laverty and Michelle Prejean; four grandchildren: Azita Ranjbar, Zoe Secka, Blaise Laverty and Hugh Laverty; three step-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Leslie, and his sister, Mary Musson. ....................... Within the Laverty family and the wider Yreka community, Bob will be remembered as a role model who epitomized integrity, compassion, patience, kindness and humility in both his public and private life. He enjoyed life fully and was passionate about sports, music, fine dining, wine, travel and film. Throughout the years, whether announcing a high school football game, enjoying a crab dinner or trip to Reno with his Elks brothers and sisters, working in the Kiwanis' taco booth at the Siskiyou Golden Fair, golfing with his buddies, or pitching stocks to his Fortune Cookies friends, Bob truly loved engaging with his community and cherished his many friends throughout the county and beyond. .......................... A Memorial Mass at St. Joseph's Catholic Church, followed by a celebration of Bob's life, will be held on Wednesday, June 17, 2015, at 10 a.m. Additional details will be announced at a later date.

Friday, July 24, 2015

Lonnie Alexander "Lon" Simmons, BHS 1940

Lonnie Alexander "Lon" Simmons, BHS 1940------------------- Lonnie Alexander "Lon" Simmons (July 19, 1923 – April 5, 2015) was an American baseball and football broadcaster, and was broadcasting part-time for the San Francisco Giants at the time of his death. He was born in Vancover, Washington. Simmons was a star pitcher at Burbank High School and Glendale College before enlisting in the U.S. Coast Guard. After World War II, he signed with the Philadelphia Phillies and pitched briefly in their minor league system........... His radio career began in Elko, Nevada, and he first announced baseball for a semipro league in Marysville, California. After spending three years broadcasting Fresno State sports on KMJ, Simmons came to San Francisco in 1957 as the color announcer for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League, teamed with play-by-play announcer Bob Fouts. In 1958, Simmons took over as play-by-play announcer on 49ers radio broadcasts, paired with former 49er Gordy Soltau. Simmons remained in that role through the 1980 season................
Simmons' most famous call during his first stint with the 49ers came on October 25, 1964, when Minnesota Vilings defensive end Jim Marshall picked up a fumble by the 49ers' Billy Kilmer and ran it the wrong way, scoring a safety for the 49ers instead of a touchdown for the Vikings (who won the game anyway, by a score of 27-22). The transcript of his call, including his mid-sentence transition as the moment occurred, reads as: George Mira, straight back to pass ... looking, now stops, throws ... completes it to Billy Kilmer up at the 30-yard line, Kilmer driving for the first down, loses the football...it is picked up by Jim Marshall who is running the wrong way! Marshall is running the wrong way! And he's running it into the end zone the wrong way, thinks he has scored a touchdown! He has scored a safety! His teammates were running along the far side of the field, Russ, trying to tell him go back!................... Simmons broadcast games for the San Francisco Giants with Russ Hodges after they moved west in 1958, continuing until 1973. He returned in 1976 for three more years, before moving across the bay to call games for the Oakland Athletics from 1981 through 1995. From 1996 to 2002, he called Giants games part-time....................... During Simmons' initial sixteen years with the Giants, the team never won a World Series. With the 49ers, his termination as play-by-play broadcaster was due to the team changing radio stations, with the new station wanting "its own man" to become lead announcer. During the final two games of the 1989 World Series, Athletics' lead announcer Bill King came down with laryngitis. Simmons was thus able to announce to his radio audience that the A's had won the World Series over Simmons' former team, the Giants.................. Simmons' first tenure as 49ers play-by-play announcer lasted 24 years, the team never winning a championship. One year after his departure, San Francisco began a run of Super Bowl victories. Simmons returned as the 49ers' announcer in 1987 and was reunited with long-time colleague, Wayne Walker. During the 1988 regular season, Simmons' call of Steve Young's breathtaking game-winning 49-yard scramble against the Minnesota Vikings became as memorable as the play itself. The following January, San Francisco won Super Bowl XXIII over the Cincinnati Bengals, 20-16. Simmons' call of the 49ers' Super Bowl game-winning drive (punctuated by a Joe Montana-to-John Taylor TD pass) can be heard on the NFL Films highlights package of the game. Simmons again departed from the 49ers — this time for good — during the 1989 preseason following a dispute with the management at the 49ers' flagship station, KGO Radio................... Simmons was replaced in the play-by-play spot by Joe Starkey, the long-time announcer for the California Golden Bears and an analyst with Simmons on 49ers games in 1987 and 1988; Starkey had taken over play-by-play on several October games during the 1988 season. Starkey retired from the position following the 2008 NFL season. Simmons died on April 5, 2015. He was 91. Simmons received the 2004 Ford C. Frick Award, given annually by the Baseball Hall of Fame to a broadcaster. He was elected to the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame in 2006 as a member of the first class to be inducted. Also in 2006, he was inducted into the Glendale Community College Athletic Hall of Fame, along with his teammate, friend and broadcast partner, Bill Thompson. Simmons' trademark call for home runs was "Tell it goodbye!", which is quoted by John Fogerty in his song, Centerfield.................. In May 2006, Simmons rejoined the San Francisco Giants as a fill-in broadcaster. He was hired back to be in the booth during four in-season trips to San Francisco from his home in Maui for the 2006 baseball season......................
Simmons provided voice samples for Sega's Sports Talk video game series, including Sports Talk Baseball, Joe Montana II: Sports Talk Football, NFL Sports Talk Football '93, and NFL Football '94 Starring Joe Montana. Joe Montana II: Sports Talk Football was the first video game ever to feature a full play-by-play running commentary.