SCHEER: Tough week saying goodbye to friends
Sep. 20—Talk about a tough week.
The Niagara Gazette and Lockport Union-Sun & Journal said goodbye last week to long-time sports writer and friend Bill Wolcott.
At the Salvation Army up the street from my house in LaSalle, the Potter family, which has been tied to that organization and church for decades, celebrated the life of one of their own, Randy Potter.
As to Mr. Wolcott, I had the privilege and the challenge of writing a story about him and his legacy. Such things are an honor, but they are among the most difficult assignments because there's an added level of importance about getting them just right.
I hope I did him justice because John William "Bill" Wolcott clearly deserved a proper send-off.
As a reporter, he was synonymous with Niagara County sports reporting for decades.
As a person, he was a valued newsroom mentor and friend.
It is especially important, in a time when many view reporters as sleazy, Left Wing communists out to destroy "A-mer-ica" to point out that Bill Wolcott was no such thing. He represented the best local journalism has to offer: a family man and military veteran of deep religious faith who worked hard at his craft from a place of high moral fiber and integrity.
He was also, on so many occasions, just a flat-out hilarious human being.
It is his unique sense of humor many of us who knew him will miss the most.
Bill's passing reminds me that, at the very tail end of the 1990s and into the early 2000s, I was privileged to be part of a unique crew of people who didn't just work together putting out a paper under the Niagara Gazette masthead.
Back then, we had the likes of Bill McGrath and Don Glynn and Dave Staba and Theresa Martinez and Cindy Szymanski-Dickey and others who started out as colleagues and became friends. That crew later included two of the best friends I'll ever have, the late Miguel Rodriguez, who passed away earlier this year, and my Heterosexual Life Partner Rick Forgione.
It sometimes takes the benefit of hindsight to realize just how good you had it. Looking back, I realize now how special it was to work with that bunch of talented, whip smart and humorous people.
Most days, and often into the night and wee hours at local social gathering halls the less sophisticated among us might describe as bars or taverns, we genuinely enjoyed one another's company.
We did important work and had fun doing it.
The experience helped solidify why I decided to become a reporter rather than getting a real job.
Bill's kindness and sense of humor were a big part of the experience for many years around here.
His wife, Maria, told me she thought the most important thing about Bill was his character and she's absolutely right.
I'd describe him as a man of high character who was a character.
If I'm ever described in similar terms, I will have died a happy man.
"Time slips away," Mr. Wolcott. "Time slips away!"
REMEMBERING RANDY
Friends and family of Randy Potter honored his memory during a service Wednesday at the Salvation Army on Buffalo Avenue.
More than 100 people were in attendance.
It was a testament to the kind of person Randy was.
While many who knew him described Randy as a "simple" man, Salvation Army Major and Pastor Andrew Murray said a more appropriate description for him was "not complicated."
He noted that Randy was a pure man of faith, the kind who held his religious belief true and never wavered. Randy devoted much of his life to helping members of his family and his extended church family.
One of my great memories of Randy involved times when my wife and I played Mary and Joseph as part of the Salvation Army's living nativity program.
Randy played the guy who turned us away at the inn, offering shelter in the stable instead.
Our roles put us on an intimate level with Smudge the donkey and, yes, we took turns cleaning up after Smudge who, well, wasn't potty trained.
In what amounted to my acting debut, I delivered my lines as Joseph to Randy the inn keeper. On more than one occasion, we'd flub our exchange only to laugh about it after.
During church services and other events, Randy often banged the big bass drum.
He played it loud and proud and I can recall many times when he got a drowsy Sunday service crowd up on its feet and into the message of the day.
Many who knew Randy have fond memories of him leading the band that way.
Like the Wolcotts, the members of the Potter family are just the kind of people you are thankful to know because they are generous with their time and spirit.
Randy's sister, Judy Potter Dixon, has always been a rock solid source of support for us and we are forever grateful.
I can say the same about Maria Wolcott, who has called me more times than I can count just to check in and ask the simplest and most important question: "How are you and your family doing?"
May the Wolcott and Potter families find comfort in their time of sorrow.
Here's hoping they rest a little easier knowing their loved ones were loved by a lot of people outside of their inner family circles.
Mark Scheer is a reporter at the Niagara Gazette.
