Mike Vorkapich

It is with great sadness that we share the loss of our loving father at age 94 on June 4, 2024 after a short illness. Survived by his loving wife Angela with whom he celebrated 62 years of marriage. Loving father of Steve (Mary), Patricia Makaric (Brian), Millicent Hill (Jim), Nada Orshinsky (Dave), and Mike (Michele). Beloved Deda to Tyler, Brock (Arielle), and Brianna Makaric; James, Steven, and Meghan Hill; Nicholas, Alexander, and Matthew Orshinsky; and Michael, Edward, and Angelina Vorkapich. Born November 19, 1929 to Vujo and Petra Vorkapich. Predeceased by his brother Steve, sister-in-law Millie, brother-in-law Gojko Daich, and sister-in-law Ljubica. Stric to Daniella, Lisa, Sonia, Mimi, Mark and their families. Ujak to Boro, Pero, Angie and their families. Will be missed by his beloved Kumovi Dragich family. A special thank you to his niece Daniella (Vorkapich) Dickens who spent his last hours with him in the hospital. Thank you to family friend, Gary Ternovan, whose daily visits to solve the problems of the world put a big smile on our dad’s face. A heartfelt thank you to all of the devoted caregivers at home and Met Hospital.

Mike was so proud of his Serbian heritage, and Canadian citizenship. His Drouillard Road roots connecting with so many other Eastern European families were his foundation of realizing the importance of education and community involvement. He enjoyed a 39 year teaching career at Wallaceburg and Leamington High Schools. Authoring several agriculture and environmental science textbooks was a most rewarding experience that he cherished….almost as much as the yearly field trips for his students to the Royal Winter Fair, Growers’ Convention, and local dairy / livestock farms. He volunteered for several years with the Leamington Kiwanis and KEY Clubs, Federation of Agriculture, MADD, 4-H Club, Serbian National Federation, Cancer Society, and coaching teams at school and in the community.

Mike was a proud graduate of Michigan State University where he was a member of the baseball team. He was easily recognized by his daily Spartan wardrobe. His proudest moments were watching his five children and many grandchildren earn their post-secondary degrees.

Former students, classmates, teammates, colleagues, neighbours, and buddies were given the most important title from Mike: FRIEND. Once Mike crossed paths with you, you were a friend for life.

Some of Mike and Angela’s fondest memories in life were attending their kids’ sporting events. This was only surpassed in later years by watching their grandchildren’s games.

Donations in Mike’s memory may be made to The Windsor Regional Cancer Centre or Grachanica Serbian Orthodox Church.

Visitation will be held at Windsor Chapel Funeral Home – Banwell Chapel (11677 Tecumseh Rd E.) 519-253-7235 on Friday, June 7th, 2024 from 2-5pm and 7-9pm. Prayers will be held at 8pm. Saturday, June 8th, 2024 a funeral service will be held at Grachanica Serbian Orthodox Church (1960 Meldrum Road) at 10am. Interment to follow at Greenlawn Memorial Gardens. To express condolences and share cherished memories, please refer to the online guest book.

OPENING OUTDOOR SLOPITCH SEASON MAY 2024

Finally this week, good weather allowed us to start our Outdoor Slopitch season. It was great to see the smiles, handshakes, hugs and of course, hear all the ribbing comments. All the unforgetable fun we had, catching up after the game.

Thanks to Donna for keeping us safe this week. Remember to warm up well and stretch properly before your game.

Thanks to all our Umpires for vounteering your time and adding to an excellent start.

TEAM Pictures will be taken over the next week. It was great to see everyone!

These are some highlights of the games. 

Broncos vs Norsemen on D1-May 16

Relics vs Ancients on D2-May 16

Rockers vs Fossils on D4-May 16

Leisures vs Gladiators on D1-May 15
Power Outage vs Aristo Cats on D2-May 15
Thunder & LIghtning vs Raiders on D3-May 15 Dinosaurs vs Cavemen on D4-May 15

President’s Message, April 2024

Another slo-pitch season is just around the corner. Your executive has met several times during the winter months to plan for our upcoming season. Teams in our three divisions have been formed and all we need now is the weather to co-operate to get our season started in early May.

We have three divisions so that players with different athletic abilities have a chance to play against players of similar abilities. We want as many players as possible to play in our league, no matter your skill level or age. On our website, you will find a brief description of each division to help you decide which division suits your skills and the skills of your fellow players that you will be competing against. If you are in doubt as to which division is best for you, this brief write up of each division should help you decide. We value all our players and want to make sure that they are playing in the proper division with players of similar skills.

I would like to welcome not only our returning players but also the players who will be playing in our league for the first time. I have been playing in this league for over twenty years and I have thoroughly enjoyed not only playing but the friendships that I have made throughout this period.

The comradery in this league is second to none. The league is meant to be recreational in nature and emphasis is having fun playing the game we love. Winning is important but in my opinion, secondary to playing in a relaxed atmosphere where players treat one another with respect and dignity.

Each year a draft is held to form the teams. You can be a teammate one year and an opposing player the next year. This is what makes our league unique and different from other leagues.

You have a chance with having different teammates season after season. Lasting friendships may be formed as result of meeting new players as teammates rather than opponents.

In closing, I would like to remind my fellow players how very fortunate we are to be playing a sport we love as we advance in age. Even though some of our skills have diminished, we still have the health and desire to continue playing. Enjoy the time you spend on the diamonds, enjoy the comradery amongst your fellow players, look forward to each and every game, do your best and do not worry about making errors or not hitting in key situations. Display good sportsmanship during the games, be supportive of one another- realize that everyone is trying to do their best and players have different abilities and strengths.

Also, realize that our umpires are volunteers and we should appreciate their efforts on our behalf.

We are lucky to have a canteen available for us to have something to eat or drink after the game- what a great way to socialize with your fellow players, and

FINALLY,

REMEMBER IT IS JUST A GAME- ENJOY EACH and EVERY GAME- WIN or LOSE

Ron Ottogalli

President

NSA Canada Registration-REQUIRED BY ALL WECSSO MEMBERS

As we enter the 2024 Slo-Pitch Summer Season please be aware that ALL WECSSO members MUST be registered with NSA Canada.  There is NO FEE.  This is a one-time registration.  If you have already registered please disregard this message.

You may use the NSA Canada link on the Home Page of our website (On the Right side of our Home Page). 

Be sure to REGISTER as a REC player during this process.

Instructions: 

  1. Go to www.nsacanada.ca
  2. Go to the Players Tab
  3. Click on Player Registration – Read the Guidelines
  4. Click on Register Now *
  5. Fill out the form and click Submit.

To confirm you are in the database go back to Player Registration and click on List of Players and enter your First Name and Last Name.

For those people without email addresses please contact Darlene Bowman directly at 905-546-0501.

NSA Canada

Darlene Bowman

National Event Coordinator

darlene@nsacanada.ca<mailto:darlene@nsacanada.ca>

ON Office 905-546-0501

Head Office 403-250-9655

www.nsacanada.ca<http://www.nsacanada.ca>

Geoffrey McKay

Passed away peacefully on April 26, 2024 at 85 years of age, went home to be with his Lord and Saviour. Husband of Janet. Loving father of Sharyl Marcella (Peter), Elizabeth McKay- Hayward (Bruce), Geoffrey McKay jr., Douglas McKay (Kellie). Dear grandfather of Colin (Amy), Ali (Brent), Brett (Ali), Taylor (Teanna), Jadyn, Hailey. Precious great grandfather of 8. Dear brother of identical twin James McKay. Predeceased by his siblings Douglas and William. Will be missed by Michelle Dorrell (Jeff) and their children, Emma and Ethan.

Geoff was a great father, husband and entrepreneur. Geoff and his brother Bill were the former owners of Krazy Kellys, they were true pioneers in there day.

If you desire memorial donations to the charity of your choice would be appreciated. Visitation to take place on Sunday April 28, 2024 from 5-8 pm at Families First 3260 Dougall Ave. South Windsor, 519-969-5841.

On Monday April 30, 2024 visitation will continue at the Banwell Community Church, 2400 Banwell Road from 10 am until time of funeral service at 11 am.

Interment to follow at Windsor Memorial.