Hank Gathers

Hank Gathers

A superstar basketball player at Loyola Marymount University. Gathers was an NBA prospect – he led the NCAA in scoring and rebounding in his final season. He had a high flying, fast paced game that was unmatched by many in his era. You can see Hank Gathers’ story in the movie Final Shot: The Hank Gathers’ Story. He was a true warrior-he left it all on the court. After the devastating loss Loyola was given an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, where his best friend and teammate dedicated the tournament to Hank by shooting his foul shots with his left hand like Hank.

The gym that Loyola Marymount plays in is known as Hank’s House. Not only was he an excellent athlete, he had aspirations to be a sportscaster. Hank Gathers had Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. There is a recreation center named after Hank Gathers and is located in Philadelphia dedicated to the development of the inner-city youth.

Reggie Lewis

Reggie Lewis

A superstar basketball player from Northeastern University was drafted by the Boston Celtics in 1987. He was the Celtics’ answer to Larry Bird’s retirement—he had the makings of a superstar in 1993 when he lead the Celtics to the playoffs. His last basketball game would be on the Boston Garden floor—he had gone on an incredible scoring run—he had scored ten points in a row. As he went for a rebound he had fallen to the ground and blacked out.

Reggie Lewis had Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. The Reggie Lewis Track and Field Center was established after his death in Roxbury, MA. There is an article dedicated to Reggie on the Boston Celtics web site. The Chad Foundation is creating a documentary for young athletes who lived short lives such as Hank Gathers and Reggie Lewis.

William L. Blom

William L. Blom
William L. Blom. January 7, 1930 – October 23, 2006

An awesome father, grandfather, uncle, brother, friend, and person. He was a brilliant man who had achieved so much–his family was not the wealthiest when he was growing up; yet he overcame so many obstacles to attain a bachelor’s and two master’s degrees. He eventually moved on to have a very successful career. The most successful aspect of his life however was his dedication to his family. All of his motivation was to make a better life for his wife Susanne and his three daughters Lisa, Diane (Dydee), and Sheri. William was diagnosed with Dilated Cardiomyopathy when he was in his 60’s and was expected to lose weight and change his lifestyle. Although struggling with diabetes, William lost all the weight he needed and made the appropriate lifestyle changes to strengthen his heart. After retiring he became a full-time grandfather to his grandchildren-Jonathan, Kristin, Mandy, and Cody and spent most of his time with family. He touched everyone with his positive attitude and infectious happiness, he will be greatly missed. He will always be here and will live on in the hearts and minds of all his family and anyone he was ever close to.

Please email me at jon.kirk@hugeheart.org if you know of anyone that you would like to have a memorial posting for. I want to honor as many people as possible on this page.