Sat, Nov 21 2009
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Published January 17, 2009 12:53 am - John Buskirk was many things to many people. In memory of JOHN BUSKIRK Mourners gather to say goodbye to the coach By KARL E. PEARSON - Staff Writer Star Beacon ASHTABULA — John Buskirk was many things to many people.
Hundreds of people showed just how much he meant to them Friday at SS. John and Paul High School’s Mahoney Gymnasium during his calling hours. A steady stream of mourners made their way past dozens of photographs, videos and other remembrances to share their condolences with the loved ones of Buskirk, the former SJP and Harvey high school teacher and head football and track coach who died Jan. 10 after a four-year battle with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The line of visitors gradually increased in length and depth as the calling hours moved along from 2 p.m. to their scheduled completion at 8 p.m. Funeral services for the 33-year-old Buskirk will be held 11 a.m. today at Assumption Catholic Church, 594 W. Main St., Geneva. Perhaps Matt Peet, a 1992 St. John High School graduate who was a football teammate of Buskirk, who was a 1993 St. John alumnus, summed it up best. “John was the best student for his teachers,” Peet said. “Ask his coaches, and they would tell you he was their hardest-working player. Ask his students, and they would tell you he was their best teacher. Talk to his players, and they would say John was their best coach.” Tributes to Buskirk came from all over the country. Among the most evident was a University of Florida football helmet signed by head coach Urban Meyer, a 1982 St. John product who had befriended Buskirk and his wife, Jessica, after learning of Buskirk’s illness. Meyer, who hosted the Buskirks at spring practice in April 2008, also sent a signed football from the Gators’ national championship game victory Jan. 8 over the University of Oklahoma. Inscribed on the helmet was the message “Buzzstrong. Memories Live On. Go Heralds, and Go Gators.” Buskirk was also adorned in the colors of SJP and Florida on Friday, dressed in an SJP sweat shirt and a Florida baseball cap. Tears and solemn expressions were in evidence in different portions of the gymnasium, but smiles and laughter were equally present. Virtually every picture of Buskirk, even in his final battle with ALL, showed him smiling. “I’ve set up this gym for a lot of different things, but I never expected to be setting it up for this,” said SJP head football coach Jim Timonere, who was an assistant for Buskirk when he headed the Herald program and then signed him on as an assistant for the past two years. “This is a great tribute to John.” Above all, expressions of how Buskirk had affected the lives of people in Ashtabula and Lake counties, and beyond, were evident. “I think the greatest strength he had was the cohesiveness he brought to our team,” said Joe Dinallo, a 2004 Harvey graduate who played defensive line for Buskirk when he was the Red Raiders’ head coach. “He gave us plenty to think about and taught us to never disrespect a teammate, to play together, to always put it on the line.” Buskirk probably had an even greater impact on Dinallo off the field. “I was always thankful to him because he helped me when I got in trouble at school,” said Dinallo, who has gone on to earn a bachelor’s degree from Ashland University and is working on a master’s degree at John Carroll University. “He wrote a letter in my defense. He kept me in school. I might have gone to college, but I definitely wouldn’t have stayed.” 
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