|
ROXIE CAMPANELLA REMEMBERED
Mar 23,
2004
The Old
North Church at Forest Lawn in Burbank was filled Monday with family and friends
who gathered to pay tribute and share memories of Roxie Campanella, the beloved
wife of Dodger great Roy Campanella who passed away last week after a long
battle with cancer. Roxie was 77.
Joining members of Roxie's immediate family at the services were members of her
"extended family" which included many former Dodger players and executives. Don
Newcombe, Lee Lacy, Tommy Davis, Reggie Smith and Ron Cey were among the former
players who along with former Dodger owners Peter O'Malley and Terry Siedler,
and former executives Bob Graziano, Kris Rone and Derrick Hall came to bid their
final farewells.
Newcombe, speaking of his former roommate Roy Campanella, recalled to those
present that "Roy once told me, 'I'm helpless when I'm laying in that bed, I'm
not worth anything there, and then Roxie gets me up out of there herself, I
don't know how she does it.' " Said Necombe, "Roy said he could not have lived
without her."
Roxie truly was the power behind the man.
The night before Roxie passed she was visited by Reggie Smith. Over the years
Roxie had become known as "mom" to Reggie, as she had to many in her extended
family. Reggie, who was one of the last to speak with Roxie, confided that
before she fell asleep she told Reggie that she was ready to "check out." The
next morning she was gone, gone to join Roy in a much better and happier place,
unrestricted by the confines of a metal, wheeled chair or the pain of stomach
cancer. As Reggie put it, "Roxie fell asleep so she could be with Roy. . . Roxie
is OK. They're both OK."
Though Roxie may be gone, her spirit lives on in the Roy and Roxie Campanella
Foundation. The Foundation, formed after Roy's death, is dedicated to providing
necessary equipment, education, informational aids, emotional and financial
support to people living with spinal cord injuries as well as providing
scholarships in the final year of study to worthy college students preparing for
careers as physical therapists. Without Roy's star power however, it's been
difficult keeping the Foundation going for so long. Last year, in fact, Roxie
auctioned off some of her husband's memorabilia to help support the struggling
Foundation. But it survives and will continue to support the cause so dear to
Roxie's heart according to Roxie's daughter, Joni.
|
 |
