Padres and baseball fans will get a chance to pay respects to our beloved Colonel when the Padres host a public memorial service at Petco Park on Saturday, January 18th at 10:30am. Gates will be opened an hour before the ceremony and both the East Village gate and Park Blvd. gate will be open for fans to enter the park. There will also be free parking available on Imperial Avenue as well as in the Padres Parkade on 10th.
The event will be a celebration of Jerry's life and accomplishments, both in and out of baseball. There will also be special guests who, I'm assuming, will probably share their personal memories of the Colonel. We're all well aware of Jerry's accomplishments in the broadcast booth, on the field, and in the air as a decorated fighter pilot, but even outside of all of that, he led an extraordinary life and left a mark on every individual he met.
The Coleman family is asking that any donations be made to the Semper Fi Fund. Per the Padres press release:
For those who would like to make a donation in Jerry's memory, the Coleman family suggests the Semper Fi Fund (www.semperfifund.org). The Semper Fi Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, was created by a group of Marine Corps spouses nine years ago to provide immediate financial assistance and lifetime support for injured and critically ill members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families.
Considering how great Jerry Coleman Day was a couple of years ago, I'm confident the Padres will put together an incredible, heartfelt memorial service that I'm sure the Colonel would find over-the-top. But we all know he deserves endless accolades and every honor in the world. Hopefully this will help provide us all with some catharsis as we gather together to celebrate Jerry's life.
