| |
Please Share Your Stories About Mark
To share you memories
about Mark, please send story or
memory to
webmaster@mmmem.com.
Your stories will be posted soon
after. Stories featuring vulgarity
will not be accepted.
Having coached over 50
teams from football,
basketball, track, and
baseball, I was able to
meet and know many
outstanding young
people. Many of these
young men and women were
great athletes; some
went on to compete in
college and six played
professionally. Mark
Munsell was one of those
fine athletes and an
even greater human
being.
Mark played for us on
the first American
Legion baseball team in
O'Fallon. He was a
powerful hitter and very
skilled at playing first
base and catcher. A
great hustler and
competitor, Mark did all
that was asked of him
and all that he could
for every pitch of a
game to help the team.
As good as he was, Mark
always put his team and
teammates before
himself. But that was no
big surprise. Mark lived
his whole life that way.
It's great fun coaching
good athletes but I got
even greater joy out of
just being around good
young people like Mark
Munsell.
Many people come and go.
And, sadly, the world
never really gets to
know them or what they
did. But when Mark
passed, the world felt
its lose. His kind heart
and gentleness touched
many of us and we all
are truly diminished.
John Dunkman, teacher
and coach
|
|
The first time I met Mark -
it was on our recruiting
trip to SEMO - we were both
in High School and did not
know very much about the
recruiting game, etc. but
the biggest thing I realized
then (and the thing that
stands out most), throughout
the years and even today --
is that for Mark.... it was
very simple.... he was pure
friend, a best friend ---
even from day #1, he was
genuine and honest and most
of all --- would do
anything in the world for a
friend -- there were never a
lot of times for glamour and
"smoothness", but it was a
great gift he had -- just to
be Muncie. Never a bad word
-- always a smile -- and
always there for a friend.
He truly loved us! Whether
you hadn't talked in a few
weeks or what, you would
always be able to pick up
right where we left off.
My story is more of a
generalization, but his
sense of happiness and joy
for life was in ever story
we had -- from drinking beer
on the Mississippi River to
crying together in Spring
Break over personal issues
--- from winning the games
together to getting into
fights together -- whether
he was coming to my home in
Kentucky or we were going to
spend the day on his boat in
St. Louis -- he was always
the same O'
Muncie! One of the Best!
Shane Kennedy, friend and
teammate |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
