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GARY BALMER Obituary
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Memories and Condolences
for GARY BALMER
Paul Mordvar
February 4, 2016
Joan,
I am so sorry to hear about losing Gary. Gary was my supervisor for ten years with the St. Pete recreation department and I couldn't have asked for a better person to work for. I am thankful that we stayed in contact and got together after his retirement. I considered him a friend and will miss him a great deal.
Betty Marzell
July 19, 2015
Altho, I worked for TWA, and had been on airplanes, I never was on a little prop plane, til Gary with a new pilot's license took me for a ride. We flew over Fishtowne an buzzed Hetzel's playground. I have many
fond memories of his parents Madge and Les, Gail his sister, as our families were good friends. Joan I am sorry for your loss, may
his memory bring you comfort.
July 17, 2015
I can remember how devastating it was for me as an 8 year old kid when my parents divorced. I was a kid from a broken home in a new neighborhood and no father figure in my life. That was the year I met new friends who took me to McVeigh where I spent the following years playing hockey and baseball in the leagues run by Gary Balmer. To a lot of us, he was everything: coach, referee, mentor, father figure, etc. When a man finds the time, energy, concern, and love, to have a positive influence in the lives of one or two disadvantaged kids, it says an awful lot about his character. But when you hear story after story from a long, long list of people whose lives were changed for the better by this one man, it serves as a testament to the fact that this was not just a nice guy, this was a truly unique and phenomenal human being. It's not possible to measure the amount of pride and self esteem that was instilled in so many of us by Gary, especially at the end of the season when he was giving out trophies, which is one of the biggest thrills in a young kid's life. Likewise, there is no trophy, no award, no accolade on earth big enough or prestigious enough to accurately represent what Gary did for so many of us. I'm just one of the many who will be forever in your debt Gary.
sincerely,
ray patsch
July 17, 2015
Joan I am so sorry to hear of your loss. You two were a true love story. I will always treasure my memories of you both. Glad you have Trish close. My prayers are with you. Take care and contact me when you can. My heart goes out to you.
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William McGlynn
July 6, 2015
I had the pleasure meeting Arnold before I moved around McViegh. He was my brother Jimmy O'Brien's coach, as the father figure he was to so many of us, he would call my house to make sure my brother was home and ready for the following days game. If Jimmy wasn't home he'd go as far as picking me up to show him where jimmy was. That was when I realized I wanted to play baseball for him. His dedication players created strong life-long bonds amongst his students of the game. We are indebted to him to carry on his legacy
Jim Ritvalsky
July 6, 2015
I had the pleasure of working with Gary during his short assignment at Bridesburg Rec. The city had just installed a Slick skating surface in the basement at the center and it was Gary's job to initiate an ice hockey program. The surface was not as good as advertised and Gary returned to his home at McVeigh. He was a fine man who I enjoyed working with. Rest in peace.
Brandon Wilson
July 6, 2015
He was more then a coach,, more then a mentor, more then a referee. He was a father figure to so many. He used to say to me after indoor batting practice, how can you hit everything I throw at you in here but can't do it during a game or practice. I explained I never played organized sports before going to McVeigh. He said he would teach me everything there was to know about baseball. He kept his promise. From indoor baseball videos (loved those things) to regular practice and riding the bench I finally gained the confidence to become a pretty good hitter. When we first moved to the neighborhood I didn't even really know how to throw a baseball, or shoot a basketball, or hit a puck. He changed that. Long after we all left the neighborhood, Arnold has and will forever live on in our memories.
SPECTRUM II
Jack Thackrah
July 2, 2015
Gary "Arnold" Balmer at Center Ice.
Jack Thackrah
July 2, 2015
Gary was my first referee, my first coach, my first mentor and my 2nd father. Gary Balmer was a true hero of McVeigh playground to countless young boys and me and that is why I will write this for all of us to remember.
Gary Balmer or "Arnold" created the McVeigh Roller Hockey League in the basement of the playground in the late 60's. In his own way he would teach us the valuable skill of how to lead from day one, as he would choose the Captains for the leagues and each year have a draft. The Captains would then lead their teams. It was learn to lead and play together as a team, no parents to muddy it up. Your buddy was also your Captain, you went through some of the greatest battles of your young life with those guys. Who could forget the battles of the McVeigh Rangers vs. the Fishtown Canadains, or Marty Buck, Cookie Kelly, Chalie Sgrillo, Kevin Osborne, the White Brothers, the Britts, Lofflers, Boo-Boo, Bull, Craz Kelly, Tommy Burke, or Buzzy Morrow in goal as a 10 year old, those were the memories and times I will always remember.
Because he could not use a regulation NHL puck or a hard street hockey puck, Gary created his own, filling a Mylec puck with airplane glue and and sealing it with electrical tape. It would become part of the McVeigh Roller Hockey culture to use these pucks just as the players names on the walls would become our culture. Everyone within the Lower NE, Kensington and Riverwards knew of McVeigh Roller Hockey.
In the mid 70's, Gary enlisted the help of some of the inagural players who had since grown to become men, with jobs in the trades, to come in and create what we knew as SPECTRUM II. He also enlisted the help of the current players to stencil names of champions and individuals who came before them and became the legends of McVeigh Roller Hockey. He had a local artist paint logos of professional NHL & WHA teams so that the Hockey Room would have a look and feel of a true arena, one whose memories would last even as the stenciled names and logos faded with the passage of time.
Gary was a visionary, instilling the use of Protective Helmets before the NHL and he created a Womens Roller Hockey League for those girls who showed a growning interest in playing roller hockey before there ever was a chant of USA! USA! USA! or women playing in the Olympics.
Gary also mentored and coached the boys in-house and travel baseball teams, ALL Of THEM! He could hit a baseball from one corner of McVeigh Playground to the other and he often demonstrated this when you didn't listen in practice. He would will you to learn the game on the field and off the field with his use of film and multiple choice tests that tested your knowledge of the game and how it was to be played. I can still hear him shouting "Round the Horn!" after ever infield set. If you weren't on the field, you were sitting on the pines watching and listening to "Arnold" so that when it was your turn in the field, you knew exactly what to do.
Gary prepared your for the game and for the bigger game. The game of life. Gary was the best coach, mentor or 2nd father many of us had at McVeigh. In the end Gary or "Arnold" was our friend because only a friend would do all that for you. Gary wanted every one of us to suceed in life and through his coaching and building of character through either roller hockey or baseball, for the boys and girls, Gary suceeded.
We will miss you Gary. You are the best! God bless, God speed. See you on the other side someday.
Michael Whalen
June 30, 2015
Gary was a "Man's Man". He played such a big part in the development of all the young men of Mc Veigh Rec.I can still remember the first time I met Gary, not knowing it would be an eternal friendship with deep admiration, with the utmost respect of a dear friend. May his eternal soul rest in peace Amen !
Clarence Faucett
June 29, 2015
Joan & Family,
It was my pleasure to play softball with Gary in St. Petersburg Florida as "SENIORS".
May the memories of the the Boat Living and later moving to Land be Special for You. Peace, Blessings and "Fond Memories."
June 29, 2015
I am so sorry to hear of this loss. May prayer comfort you in this difficult time. - 1 Thess 5:17
Buzz Morrow jr
June 29, 2015
Gary pointed a lot of us down the right road in life, I thank God today for his dedication to McVeigh playground back in the day, Godspeed Arn.
June 28, 2015
So sorry to see this, Joan. Condolences to you and your family.
Claire Leonard
Steve Clark
June 28, 2015
Just a really good Man.Still remember our talk's like it was yesterday. Arnold thanks for making my days at McVeigh fun.He loved all the kids rest in peace Gary. I will never forget you.
Joseph (Bolli) Sundermeier
June 28, 2015
Arnold was a great man, defiantly a father figure to me and many other growing up. I remember I was on 9 years old back in 1989 and he let me play on the 10-12 team and I never played the game of baseball before, so I was mainly there to train and learn from the best and that year we won the championship, but unfortunately I didn't have a hand in the win lol but he thought me to cheer my teammates on and learn. So just to give an ideal on a great man and coach he was for a kid who never touched a ball he made me a starter ever year after that. So that just goes to show you the time he actually took to spend on each one of his kids. But my deepest condolences to his family, a great man my be gone but will never be forgotten.
Nicole Altimairo
June 28, 2015
Our thoughts and prayers are with you all during this sad time! I have happy memories, as a child, being included in his weekends with his daughter, Anna May. He took us on our first ski trip up the mountains. May you rest in peace in God's light!
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