In Memory Of
John Safka
“One sees clearly only with the heart. Anything essential is invisible to the eye.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery, The Little Prince
On Friday, March 14, 2009, all of us in the North East Seattle Little League community lost a great friend, a fine father and a true baseball fan with the accidental death of John Safka in a snowmobile accident at the much too young age of 42. Our hearts go out to John’s extended family, but especially to his children, Nick, Nat and Annabel and their mother, Danielle. John was a fixture around NESLL baseball—he served on the Board and pioneered our use of on-line registration. More important, he was always around our ball fields, coaching and cheering our teams and encouraging his kids, who will forever be the Stars of his life.
For those of you who had the pleasure of coaching with John, I know you will miss his unlimited supply of new ideas, his late night phone calls to discuss the endless details of that night’s game, his never-ending smile. John had his quirks, as we all do. I miss every one of them. He had one of the greatest laughs ever—that’s what I will miss the most and remember forever.
His obituary, published in the very last edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, stated that “John is in a good place today, sitting on a comfy lounge chair…” I know that is true. He is, however, complaining about the weather and the muddy fields, likely questioning an umpire’s call, and wondering what I was thinking when I sent a runner home from third only to be out by three feet . He’s also watching closely and smiling over Nick, Nat and Annabel, encouraging them to do their very best in everything they do, to care for each other, and to make as many friends as he did.
They say it takes a village to raise a child. How very fortunate we are that John and his family live in our village. We at NESLL dedicate the 2009 baseball season to John’s memory—I know he will remain in all of our thoughts well beyond this baseball season.
Please offer your support and your generosity to Nick, Nat, and Annabel through donations to The Safka Children Education Trust c/o Patrick Moran at Peterson Russell Kelly, PLLC, 1850 Skyline Tower, 10900 NE Fourth Street, Bellevue, WA 98004-8341, (425) 462-4700.
Gary Newsome, District 8 Administrator
Gary Newsome, Washington District 8 Administrator, passed away on March 19, 2009. He was 69. Gary served as a volunteer District Administrator for 20 years and oversaw 14 local Little Leagues. During his 40 years of volunteer service to the Little League program, Mr. Newsome also served 15 years as an Assistant District Administrator, one season as a league president, three years as a team manager and one as a coach. Mr. Newsome considered the many friends that he met through Little League and knowing that he helped make a positive impact on our youth, as his greatest personal rewards.
Gary is survived by his wife of 47 years, Beverly who served by Gary’s side on the District Board and continues to serve our local Little Leagues. Gary and Bev have assured that every child was given the opportunity to play baseball or softball, focusing their efforts on broadening the opportunities for physically and mentally disabled children through the Little League Challenger Division.
In Gary’s honor, the Seattle Mariners asked Bev to throw out the first pitch at the May 23, 2009 Mariners game celebrating Little League Mariner Day. Northeast Seattle Little League has benefitted greatly from Gary’s dedication and he continues to be an inspiration to us all.