OT: A Sad Day

[Deertick]

Today my uncle, John Marinari, passed away. He was 76 years old. Thankfully, I was able to see him last week after driving my father and his wife from FL to Philly. He never awoke from the operation, but we know he felt our presence.

Unk was a Philly cop for 25+ years. He worked security at Lankeneau Hospital for 25+ years. He was known and loved by many. A humble and generous man, he was funny with his stories and a great friend.

My main reason for this post is this:

This man was the driving force behind my sports 'fandom' and collecting. He didn't know it, and it wasn't until last week before I fully realized it. His passion for sports, including boxing and horses was evident to me at a very early age. By the age of 10, he had taken me to the Palestra for Big-Five and HS basketball, the Civic Center for Blazers hockey, Delaware and Philly Parks for thorobreds, and Brandywine for the trotters. He wasn't a fan as much as an objective observer, sort of like a reporter or announcer. Many times, the discussions we had were infuriating because I was a FAN. Most times he was correct, but he admitted that he was wrong about Mike Schmidt. In 1989. Just to bust my chops.

He never collected much, but he would always keep me in mind when he would run across a program or bump into an athlete. He mainly collected memories and stories.

In 1985 he gave me an autograph that his uncle had given him. I wonder whether his uncle had the same influence on him as my Uncle John Marinari had on me.

R.I.P Unk