digamma
03-04-2005, 07:27 AM
I think the article speaks for itself, but we had a fantastic night last night, with a tremendous honor bestowed upon my dad.
***
Tucker gym named for slain coach Venable
By BILL OSINSKI ([email protected])
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/04/05
The Venable name will be preserved in the place where two men named Venable spent many of their best hours.
In a sad yet celebratory ceremony Thursday night, the Tucker High gymnasium was dedicated to William S. "Billy" Venable. More than 200 paid tribute to Venable, who, along with his son Bill Jr., was shot and killed in January 2004 by an intruder at their Lilburn home. The father was 55, his son 17.
<!--endclickprintinclude--><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=175 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/02/14/19/image_1419142.jpg (http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/gwinnett/0304/VENABLE_1.html)
KEITH HADLEY/AJC
(ENLARGE) (http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/gwinnett/0304/VENABLE_1.html)
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Attending the ceremony were Bill Venable's widow, Susan, his sons (from left) Stephen Venable and Eddie Steele, daughter Amy Venable and brother Tommy Venable.
</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width=170 bgColor=#ffffff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle width=170 bgColor=#cccccc><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=10 width=168 bgColor=#ffffff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=148>http://img.coxnewsweb.com/C/08/26/62/image_262268.gifEMAIL THIS (http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/gwinnett/0304/04venable.html?UrAuth=`NbNUOcNXUbTTUWUXUTUZT[UTUWU^UWUZUcUcUcTYWVVZV#)
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Thursday night, a bronze plaque with the elder Venable's likeness was unveiled at the dedication for the former football and wrestling coach. Part of the inscription called him "a gentle giant who gave of himself to Tucker High School and the Tucker community."
The plaque will be installed in the lobby of the gym where Venable worked throughout his 16 years at the school. Speakers recalled how Venable would put in many extra hours there — coaching, organizing an annual craft show fund-raiser, making sure the teams' laundry was done.
"He was modest to a fault — the consummate back- ground guy," said Billy Venable's son Stephen, now an attorney in Los Angeles. "He was the one who got things done, but when it came time to give out the credit, he diverted it."
Stephen Venable said his father would have been "completely embarassed" by the tribute, and he might have even found an excuse to leave the room when the plaque was unveiled. "Deep down, I know he'd be deeply touched and bursting with pride, as we all are tonight."
Susan Venable, Billy Venable's widow, accepted the gift of a smaller version of the plaque.
Tucker High principal Scott A. Butler said when he thinks of Billy Venable, he thinks of a line from "The Prince of Tides," a movie about a high school coach: "It's the memories in our lives that sustain us."
But in dealing with the pain of their deaths, Butler said, "It's love, not time, that heals our hearts."
Ben Lewis, director of the youth church program in Tucker, sang a song he wrote titled "Why." One line from the refrain is: "Why, oh why, did such an awful day come here? God, where are you? How we need to know you are near."
***
On a side note, SkyDog outed me last night as a geek. In his lead in to singing "Why?", he casually mentioned that he and I were "friends on an internet message board." My days of playing the cool kid are over.
***
Tucker gym named for slain coach Venable
By BILL OSINSKI ([email protected])
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 03/04/05
The Venable name will be preserved in the place where two men named Venable spent many of their best hours.
In a sad yet celebratory ceremony Thursday night, the Tucker High gymnasium was dedicated to William S. "Billy" Venable. More than 200 paid tribute to Venable, who, along with his son Bill Jr., was shot and killed in January 2004 by an intruder at their Lilburn home. The father was 55, his son 17.
<!--endclickprintinclude--><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=2 width=175 align=left border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>http://img.coxnewsweb.com/B/02/14/19/image_1419142.jpg (http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/gwinnett/0304/VENABLE_1.html)
KEITH HADLEY/AJC
(ENLARGE) (http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/gwinnett/0304/VENABLE_1.html)
</TD></TR><TR><TD class=caption>Attending the ceremony were Bill Venable's widow, Susan, his sons (from left) Stephen Venable and Eddie Steele, daughter Amy Venable and brother Tommy Venable.
</TD></TR><TR><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=1 width=170 bgColor=#ffffff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle width=170 bgColor=#cccccc><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=10 width=168 bgColor=#ffffff border=0><TBODY><TR><TD width=148>http://img.coxnewsweb.com/C/08/26/62/image_262268.gifEMAIL THIS (http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/gwinnett/0304/04venable.html?UrAuth=`NbNUOcNXUbTTUWUXUTUZT[UTUWU^UWUZUcUcUcTYWVVZV#)
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Thursday night, a bronze plaque with the elder Venable's likeness was unveiled at the dedication for the former football and wrestling coach. Part of the inscription called him "a gentle giant who gave of himself to Tucker High School and the Tucker community."
The plaque will be installed in the lobby of the gym where Venable worked throughout his 16 years at the school. Speakers recalled how Venable would put in many extra hours there — coaching, organizing an annual craft show fund-raiser, making sure the teams' laundry was done.
"He was modest to a fault — the consummate back- ground guy," said Billy Venable's son Stephen, now an attorney in Los Angeles. "He was the one who got things done, but when it came time to give out the credit, he diverted it."
Stephen Venable said his father would have been "completely embarassed" by the tribute, and he might have even found an excuse to leave the room when the plaque was unveiled. "Deep down, I know he'd be deeply touched and bursting with pride, as we all are tonight."
Susan Venable, Billy Venable's widow, accepted the gift of a smaller version of the plaque.
Tucker High principal Scott A. Butler said when he thinks of Billy Venable, he thinks of a line from "The Prince of Tides," a movie about a high school coach: "It's the memories in our lives that sustain us."
But in dealing with the pain of their deaths, Butler said, "It's love, not time, that heals our hearts."
Ben Lewis, director of the youth church program in Tucker, sang a song he wrote titled "Why." One line from the refrain is: "Why, oh why, did such an awful day come here? God, where are you? How we need to know you are near."
***
On a side note, SkyDog outed me last night as a geek. In his lead in to singing "Why?", he casually mentioned that he and I were "friends on an internet message board." My days of playing the cool kid are over.