HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY to my Wonderful Dad! This is your amazing Story - You have always been my Hero! xoxo Seventy-five years ago this July 4th, Lou Gehrig made his legendary Farewell Speech in which he announced himself as the Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth. As sportswriter, Jim Murray once described Lou, he was a dedicated athlete, a caring son and husband, an honest man and an American Hero. This August 18, 2014, our father Walter Robert Blair will celebrate his 90th Birthday. Like Lou Gehrig, he was a talented athlete, a caring son, husband and father, an honest man, and to all who have known him and to those whose lives he has touched, he is an American Hero. Growing up with our Dad was a bit like having Jack Armstrong, the All American Boy as your father. He didnt smoke, drink or curse. He was loving, outwardly affectionate, impeccable with his word and a man of upstanding character. He was a mentor and roll model not only to his five daughters and his grandchildren, but to his students and his players as well. Walt Blair was born in Philadelphia, PA. on the cusp of the Great Depression. When many of his friends fathers were out of work, his father, a carrier for the US Postal Service had a steady job. He and his two younger brothers were fortunate during that difficult time as there was always a hot meal on the table, and on many nights, dinner was shared with a friend or two from the neighborhood. He grew up learning not only to think of himself, but to care and to serve others who were less fortunate. As luck had it, he inherited his familys athletic genes and was a talented ball player. That God given ability opened many doors for him. He was recruited to attend Northeast High School in Philadelphia where he excelled and was guided by professional mentors. After graduation from high school, he was recruited to play professional baseball. However, before he could decide between college and pro baseball, America joined the war effort and along with thousands of other men, he stepped forward to fight for his country. Walts luck followed him to Louisiana where he did his basic training. Thousands of troops were called to Normandy for the D-Day Invasion on June 6th 1944, but he was asked to stay behind to train the next group to be deployed. He was assigned as a member of the 8th Armored Tank Division, was awarded Dough Boy of the Year, and continued his baseball career by playing for the US Army team on the battlefields of Europe. The war ended and Walt returned home without injury. Shortly thereafter, he met and married Gloria, the love of his life. He attended college on the GI Bill and upon graduation from West Chester State Teachers College, he was offered his first coaching job at Germantown High School in Philadelphia. Seven years and two daughters later, after a stint at Elizabethtown College, he found himself Dean of Men, Athletic Director, Head Football Coach, Head Baseball Coach, and ( as much as he hates to admit it), Head Wrestling Coach at Bloomsburg State Teachers College, in Bloomsburg, PA. He was lucky that his true calling and life purpose presented itself early in his life. Recruiting players from small, depressed coal mining towns in Pennsylvania, he was able to offer a college education to young men that otherwise had slim opportunities, not only to attend college , but to succeed. He mentored, tutored, and transformed their lives by offering them a view of a world they could have only imagined. They graduated, and many have gone on to excel in positions of leadership. He has kept in touch with many of them and to this day he remains an important person in many of their lives. To be able to see, in your lifetime, how you have touched and transformed the lives of others, that is indeed a gift. By the end of his Bloom days, his daughter count had reached 5, and, quite honestly, how lucky can one man get? His next move was to return to West Chester University in West Chester, PA., this time to teach, coach, and to take over the position of Director of Career Development. During the West Chester years, daughters got married and grandchildren arrived...2 granddaughters and 5 grandSONS. Yes, Boys had finally arrived! He made an easy slide into retirement and a decision was made that Walt and Gloria sell the family home in West Chester and relocate to Saratoga Springs, NY. Ladies and gentlemen, the family home was put on the market and sold within 2 weeks. Easy peasy.... his luck continued. So here we are, 13 years later. How time flies. Walt loves Saratoga Springs, his home with Gloria at Prestwick Chase, his new friends. Life has been good. It has been filled with adventure, change, fruition, recognition and most of all LOVE. Like Lou, he has been lucky. During his lifetime, he has been able to see firsthand how he has affected the world in a positive way. He has seen his children grow, marry and have families of their own, and he has the unconditional love and adoration of his wife, his daughters, his sons in- laws and his grandchildren. For all of those reasons and for many more, he is the luckiest man on the face of the earth. (...and for those of us who love him, how lucky are we?)
Posted on: Mon, 18 Aug 2014 21:36:30 +0000
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