Senavitis service was well-done, and informative

FROM KEITH GROLLER

It's a busy time, and we're moving forward with playoff plans -- starting here in the Lehigh Valley and stretching all of the way to Northern Iowa.

At least now I can take "Spending Thanksgiving weekend in Cedar Falls, Iowa" off my bucket list of things to do before my career ends.

But I wanted to take a moment and say how glad I was to be at DeSales University on Sunday for the memorial service honoring the life and times of Al Senavitis.

I was amazed at the people who were there and how many different schools were represented.

And moving up and down that long line of folks waiting to get in, you really got the full impact of how a man lived his life and how many people he touched in different ways.

And I don't know if my column in the Monday newspaper accurately conveyed it, but I wanted to express how terrific each of the speakers were and how well they each touched on a different aspect of Al's life.

I don't want to slight anyone because they were all great, starting with Father Bernie O'Connor, the DeSales president, who painted a beautiful picture of Senavitis being welcomed into heaven on the shoulders of thousands of the Special Olympics athletes he helped throughout the course of 40-plus years working for that great organization.

That image resonated with me, and oh how you hope that it happened just as O'Connor depicted it.

And I have to say, as someone who was not always the biggest Billy Packer fan, he was great. Just great. Fighting through his tears to deliver the speech he delivered, wow, it's no wonder he was the voice of college basketball all of those years. I have a new appreciation and respect for him.

And there were some great comments in the hallway, too.

I inched forward along with Phil Rohm, the former Phillipsburg football coach, and he had me smiling as he talked about his times with Senavitis.

A woman I didn't know came up to me and introduced herself.

She said her name was Ellen Selmasska and she used to teach with Al at Liberty in the 1970s.

Liberty began a girls track team and Selmasska was asked to be the first coach.

Selmasska said she had no idea how to coach a team.

Senavitis "dropped everything he was doing" according to Selmasska, and stepped forward to assist her in any and every way possible to help her and the Liberty girls have a great experience. Selmasska said he was a life-saver and the team got off and running thanks largely to Al.

That assist never went on Senavitis' resume, but it showed the kind of guy he was; always wanting to help and do what's best for others without asking for credit in return.

I am glad Ellen told me that story.

Again, I was glad to be there on Sunday.

I thought I knew a lot about Senavitis before Sunday. Now I know much more.

And what I thought was a real good guy is now even more outstanding in my eyes.

As someone who said he used to read me all the time, I am hoping he sees these words from his new vantage point.

Al, you were one terrific human being. We're going to miss you.

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/