Elmer Adam Blasco

Elmer Adam Blasco A funeral Mass for Elmer Adam Blasco, 87, will be celebrated at 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5, at St. Raymond de Penafort Church in Mount Prospect. Interment will be in All Saints Cemetery, Des Plaines. Visitation will take place from 4 to 9 p.m. Monday, Aug. 4, and from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday, at Friedrichs Funeral Home, 320 W. Central Road (at Northwest Highway), Mount Prospect. Elmer was a beloved husband to Dolores (his Doe); devoted father to Trudi (Gregory) Thalmann, Terri (William) Wood, Mark (Leslie) and Jean (John Sandquist); proud grandfather of Sarah, Erin, Nathan, Abby, Jason, Allyson Lauren, Erich and Ryne; and big brother to Alvin. Elmer was born Nov. 21, 1920, in Streator, Ill., into a railroad family. He attended and graduated from the University of Illinois School of Journalism in 1943, reported directly to OCS and then onto the European Theatre as a captain in the 29th Infantry Division in World War II. He met his loving wife, Dolores, upon his return to the States and they were married in 1948. Elmer enjoyed a lifelong career in the sporting goods world. While employed at Rawlings Sporting Goods, Elmer conceived one of the most coveted awards in sports, the Gold Glove Award, which earned him a Gold Glove of his own and a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y. Elmer authored "The Sporting Goods Agent," a compendium of views on the subject by successful agents in this specialized field of selling. A living legend in Mount Prospect (a 50-year resident), Elmer was instrumental in the construction of the Mount Prospect Veteran's Memorial, a past president and board member of the Mount Prospect Park District, and an active member of the Prospect High School Booster Club and Little League Baseball. Emer and Dolores celebrated 59 wonderful years together as husband and wife; Elmer attributed their success to two simple words, "Yes, Dear." In lieu of flowers, please remember Elmer by your donations to the American Heart Association, 3816 Paysphere Circle, Chicago, IL 60674, www.americanheart.org. For information, 847-255-7800 or www.FriedrichsFH.com.