Ginny Doyle Tribute 10: Hometown Farewell Begins

(Guru note: Directly below this post is an open-ended invitation to gather at a nearby establishment Tuesday night and continue to celebrate the life of Ginny Doyle.)

By Mel Greenberg

PHILADELHIA -- It is now a few days added to two weeks ago when we first learned the tragic news of the horrible balloon accident in Virginia that look the lives of Richmond associate head women's basketball coach Ginny Doyle, a graduate of Archbishop Ryan, operations director Natalie Lewis of Buffalo, N.Y., and the captain Don Kirk.

Since then there has been an outpouring of support nationwide for the families of all three, particular Doyle, who was well known in the basketball community dating back to her exploits as an ace foul shooter at the University of Richmond before becoming part of three different coaching staffs at her alma mater.

She also was on the staff of Hall of Famer Anne Donovan (now coach of the WNBA Connecticut Sun) at East Carolina.

Now the time has come for the official locally-based tributes to Doyle tonight (Tues., May 27) and Wednesday morning.

Doors will open at 7 tonight for the celebration of life and visitation for Ginny at Givnish Funeral Home in Northeast Philadelphia. (Particulars for all events are listed at the end of this post.)

Her brother Joe said there will be many mementos from Ginny's career on display -- her jersey, the ball she set the NCAA record at the time for making 66 straight foul shots, and other remembrances.

The prayer card will be in the form of a basketball ticket with Ginny's picture on it.

Over the last week in this blog, persons who have contributed memories have given all the possible aspects of relationship with Ginny in the basketball world -- life on the same coaching staff, a tribute from a former player, a pair of tributes from coaching colleagues on the recruiting trail, and also one from a former Richmond teammate, who also provided some pictures.

There was also the Guru's own tribute and memories to start the coverage here on the morning after learning the sad news.

They are all in the posts below, most with sequence numbers attached.

"With Ginny being the youngest in the family we kind of lived her basketball life with her," Joe said. "We went to all the games. Many times she would call me when she was going recruiting and say we're going to Allentown or upstate Pennsylvania, almost anywhere.

"I got to meet many people who would otherwise just be names in the news. I remember once at a tournament at Dartmouth we got together afterwards with DePaul coach Doug Bruno and Maggie Dixon, who was on his staff at the time."

At the moment, subject to change, the Guru will write some kind of overview from tonight's events and then another tomorrow after the Mass.

It is likely that several local TV stations, the Associated Press, possibly The Inquirer and other media may be on the scene at Givnish.

Joe says the family has no problem with their presence to talk to people waiting in line, so it is your option whether or not you want to speak when approached, but understand they are not being perceived as intruders.

Your Guru and Mike Flynn of Blue Star also invite you to gether tonight afterwards at Miller's Ale House, details below on a separate blog.

Tomorrow's events at St. Bede in Lower Bucks County begin at 10 a.m. with a private prayer an hour before the Mass gets under way.

The preliminary time will also be for those who didn't get to Givnish, but about 10 minutes before the Mass a family member will offer the eulogy.

The reason is the Catholic Church no longer permits an eulogy as part of the mass because many tend to go long and interfere with the ceremony.

With all that said, here is a repeat of the official funeral notifications so you don't have to hunt a bit back to find the original posting in the blog.

Ginny Doyle Funeral Details

Tuesday, May 27th 7pm-till the last person is thru the line.
Life Celebration; John H. Givnish Funeral Home, 10975 Academy Road, Philadelphia PA 19154 (215) 281-0100.

Wednesday, May 28th Silent Prayer: 10am-11am
Mass: 11am-12 noon: St. Bede the Venerable Roman Catholic Church, 1071 Holland Road, Southampton, PA 18966 (215) 357-5720 .

Please send cards to: Ginny Doyle C/O Raymond Doyle 40 Ronald Drive Holland, PA 18966.

-- Mel



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