THROWING YOU A CURVE
October 15, 2004

TODAY WE LOST A GREAT MAN

Today, my father Johannes Cornelis Blijleven, passed away while battling Parkinson’s in Garden Grove, California. Even though we all knew this day was going to happen, we’re never prepared. How can I explain to you what I feel? I know we all lose loved ones everyday but it’s a first for me. My family has always been pretty healthy. My four sisters, two brothers, and all of our children have all been blessed with good health.

My mother and father have been married for 58 years and were always best friends. They always told us children that even at the age of 13, when they were kids growing up in Holland, they knew they were meant for each other.

My mother is doing fine because she has so many family members around her. I know she will miss my father and her best friend and will be looking forward to the day she will join him in heaven.

We children will always remember a father that was a very hard worker, dedicated husband and father, and someone that was always looking for a laugh. We will remember a father that was strict with his children and made sure we were always busy, either doing school work or working at a job. We will remember a father that always took so much pride in his lawn and his garden. We always had the best groomed yard in the neighborhood. We will remember a father that seemed to always come home from a hard day at work with a joke. We will remember a caring father, an unselfish father, and a very loving man with a big heart.

I will remember a father that was always there for me. When I was playing a baseball game, he was always there. I will remember a father that bought me my first baseball glove and probably had to work overtime for the cost of that glove. If we lost a game, it was the umpires' fault and he would try his best to follow that umpire to his car and let him know. I will remember a father that built me a pitching mound in the back yard when he couldn’t catch me anymore. I will remember a father that was strict on me, but made sure that I was always headed in the right direction. Tough love was his middle name.

I know without the help of my father’s guidance I would not have been a successful baseball player. He taught me determination, dedication, and never giving up. I will miss the time we had together.

Thank you for reading this column and letting me tell you about the greatest man I ever knew, my dad.

I will continue to help raise needed funds to hopefully one day find a cure for Parkinson’s.

I will always love you dad. Your loving son, Bert