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At the Mike, Great Bend, KS (2025)

12/11/2025

At the Mike - December 11, 2025

December keeps busy, prep basketball hitting full stride early and fun during the Christmas season

Busy, busy, busy. That is often the theme in December. It seems like there is something to do almost every day.

Monday night my wife and I were able to attend a beautiful Christmas concert at the Methodist Church. It was put on by the college under the direction of Eric Foley. It not only included college students but members of the community as well. Young kids and ‘kids’ with gray hair put on an awesome show. Good stuff.

While that was taking place, just down the street at the Great Bend Rec Center several people were taking part in the annual Santa’s Workshop. Stone Street south of Broadway was full.

This Sunday at the Barton County Historical Society is ‘Ghosts of Christmas Past’. Looks like a fun time there as well. Also Sunday ‘The Nutcracker’ will be performed at Fine Arts Auditorium at Barton by the Metropolitan Ballet out of Wichita.

Busy, busy, busy. Tis the Christmas season.

Prep Sports

Basketball season is underway. For the Great Bend boys, it has been a solid start to say the least. A 3-point win over Bishop Carroll was the only close contest so far. Currently 3-0, the Panthers have four more games before the Christmas break. Great Bend is up to 3rd in the latest KBCA rankings in 5A.

Larned and Hoisington boys both won their openers in the Keady Classic and will face off Friday in semifinal action. St. John will take on 3A 4th ranked Holcomb in the other semifinal contest.

The Central Plains boys are in the semis at the Amos Morris Classic in Russell. The Oilers will take on Ellsworth Friday.

In area girls action, Larned and St. John are in the semis at the Keady Classic as well. Larned will play Bucklin after the Red Aces handed Hoisington a 5-point setback while St. John will take on Holcomb. Like the boys, the Holcomb girls are ranked 4th in 3A.

The Ellinwood girls are living up to No. 5 ranking in 2A early in the year. The Eagles have a 31-point win over LaCrosse and a 41-point win over Kiowa County. The Central Plains girls, like the boys’ team, will take on Ellsworth in semifinal action at the Amos Morris tourney.

And Finally

The Christmas season is definitely here. I know because each day packages show up at the house and bags from stores in town litter the table. Yep, presents, presents, and more presents. Stockings are being made to hang by the chimney with care. Well, somewhere like that.

I find myself humming Christmas carols throughout the day. I tell the students to just go with it if I am humming a bit too loud. It is just that time of the year. One of my absolute favorite times of the year.

There are very few songs better than ‘Silent Night’. And Elvis singing ‘Silent Night’, man, that is tough to beat. Oh Holy Night and O Come All Ye Faithful also rank high. The Little Drummer Boy holds a special place in my heart as my Mom would sing it when it came on the radio. This will be my first Christmas without Becky Marzolf.

For me, Christmas has always been about family. From the time I realized my Dad was Santa at our church program in Glen Elder somewhere around 5 years old to the trips with him on Christmas Eve as I grew older.

At his peak as Santa, we had probably close to 20 stops on Christmas Eve around Glen Elder and mostly Beloit. My Mom, sister and myself would sit out in the ‘sleigh’ and watch as flash bulbs from cameras went off at a blistering pace.

He even played Santa to kids of the kids he was Santa to a generation earlier. Those are some memories that will forever be with me and gain strength as the Christmas season goes along.

I also remember the time I lost a bike to my Mom on a bet at Christmas. Christmas Eve 1977. I was 10 years old. Baltimore and Oakland were playing in a football playoff game. Baltimore was winning. My Mom told me Oakland would come back and win. I didn’t like Oakland. She said I bet you a Christmas present the Raiders win.

Under the stipulation it was not a basketball (I had already seen that present without her knowing) I told her I would make that bet. Bad decision.

Oakland trailed by a field goal late when the now famous “Ghost to the Post’ pass from Ken Stabler to Dave Casper gained 42 yards and put Oakland in position to kick a field goal and tie the game in the final seconds. The Raiders won in double overtime.

The next morning there was a bike by the Christmas tree that my Mom said was now hers. Fortunately, she let me ride that bike whenever I wanted.

Christmas was also when I proposed to my wife Crystal in front of my family. I only told my sister Rhonda that I was going to do it, surprising everyone else in the house.

Some great memories for me during the Christmas season. Those memories just continue to grow as another generation begins to appreciate the Christmas season. My grandchildren, Wade age 2 and Willow age 1, are not quite to the point they understand what is going on but they soon will.

Merry Christmas to all.

12/06/2025

At the Mike - December 4, 2025

December makes an appearance, prep sports transitions and life without a cell phone

Right on cue. December 1 and snow. In fact it wasn’t much after midnight on December 1 that the snow began to fall. No, winter is not officially here. And, no, we can’t really complain about the weather as a whole during the month of November.

I am not a fan of snow. But it didn’t last very long. The cold, however, looks like it is going to stick around a bit.

It was definitely cold at the Holiday Parade Saturday night. It hurt attendance some but a nice crowd still made their way out to watch the festivities.

December is the darkest month of the year. Currently sunrise is set for 7:35 and sunset for 5:15. That gives us right around 9:40 of daylight. The shortest day of the year coincides with the winter solstice on December 21. On that day we get about 9:29 of daylight.

Most of the fun stuff for December is set for the end of the month centered around Christmas. Schools are out for a couple of weeks. Families make plans to spend time together. Schools and churches have programs put on by the children.

So let’s welcome in the final month of the year. Hello December.

Prep Sports

The football season has come to an end for teams in the Golden Belt. It was a pretty darn good run for both Great Bend and Hoisington. Both teams wanted one more week but it was not in the cards. It will be seasons remembered for both teams.

I thought each would get another week. I felt like this was the year for Great Bend to win that state title. With the two misses, the final record for predictions here At the Mike was 61-11.That’s an 85 percent clip.

With no Thursday paper last week you have to take my word for it that I picked 8 of the 9 state champions. I thought Southeast would beat Nemaha as my only miss.

Now the winter sports tip off with more high expectations in the area. The Great Bend boys basketball team is in position to do some good things. Central Plains made it to the 1A DI State tournament last year, finishing in fourth place.

Great Bend opens the season ranked No. 4 in 5A in the coaches poll. They are the only area boys team that is ranked.

For the girls, St. John and Central Plains both made the state tournament last year. For Central Plains it may seem like old news but for each group it is a great accomplishment.

As far as St. John is concerned a new coach will be on the bench as Danny Smith was not brought back and is now the head coach at Dodge City - a team Great Bend will see twice.

Ellinwood was a single game from a trip to state, losing to Phillipsburg in the substate finale. Ellinwood opens the year ranked No. 5 in 2A as the only area girls team ranked.

And Finally

Life without a phone. Crazy stuff. I managed to do it for about a week. It wasn’t going to be that long originally, but it turned into that.

Last Wednesday as my wife Crystal and I were getting ready to leave town for a bit, my phone went black. It was still on, making noises and such but the screen was black. No big deal. I can go get it checked out Friday. What’s a couple of days.

But as Friday came about we got busy preparing for our Thanksgiving at our house on Saturday. Throw in a little babysitting of the grandkids and before you knew it, it was too late. A big Thanksgiving dinner on Saturday also kept me from getting my phone looked at. By this point, I really didn’t miss it to be honest.

Sunday was a busy morning at church with the hanging of the greens and the first Sunday of advent. The afternoon was about relaxing after scurrying around the previous four days. By the time I awoke from my ‘short’ nap, it was once again too late to go have it checked on.

It didn’t quite take me back to my phoneless childhood but it was interesting at family gatherings to watch how much people are on their phones. I know I do as well, but if the grandkids are in the house they are much more fun than a phone.

That took me to Monday. After school, I finally took time to have it looked at. One day shy of a week. The verdict was, well, too bad for you.

I had two options - either get a new phone that warranty probably won’t cover it even though it’s just a bit over a year old or have the screen replaced, which is something that particular store does not do.

Geez.

I picked a third. I took an old phone in with me and had them activate it while I decided how I wanted to spend several hundreds dollars on a phone that I still owe money on and should be working just fine. In fact is working but for the screen.

Warranty wouldn’t cover it I was told because there was a small crack on the back, despite the fact I paid an outrageous amount for this otter box thing that is supposed to protect your phone during a building falling down on you during an earthquake or something like that. And that has nothing to do with the screen.

Oh, and the phone I had them transfer things to could not restore my text messages. Huh? Why? That makes no sense. It did transfer contacts except the ones that I communicated with the most - like my wife, my daughters, my officiating crew etc. Weird, huh. It transferred people I never talk with but those I text the most, nope.

It makes me want to go back to that 6-day span of not having a phone. Things were more simple. But in today’s world that is all but impossible.

11/20/2025

At the Mike - November 20, 2025

A little November Rain with some football, football and more football

It is November. The weather might not be showing it at the moment, but that may change soon. We had a slight cold stint that went away pretty quickly. Temps have been rolling in the 60s for much of this month.

As I peak at my phone, it tells me that may change. It may change with some rain as well. Temps are headed to the 50s and rain should be rolling in by Thursday. Perhaps a lot of it into Friday. Let’s hope those showers end in this area before Friday night football.

With Thanksgiving still a week away, hopefully the weather will cooperate for it. It is nice when you can spend some time outside with family. Especially my 2-year old grandson Wade. He absolutely loves the outdoors.

So appreciate the nice weather while we have it. Hopefully it’s not done. And, most importantly, hopefully the rain does not affect Friday night football.

While I do like the Guns and Roses November Rain song, I do not want that November rain to come Friday night.

Prep Sports

So how much fun was last Friday at Memorial Stadium in Great Bend and Elton Brown Field in Hoisington. Fun stuff for different reasons. Great Bend went to a last-minute defensive stand while Hoisington poured it on Garden Plain.

The Panthers ended the season of rival Hays in a game full of drama all the way to the final minute. The stands were packed. The atmosphere was electric. The fireworks afterwards were pretty cool as well. Those there will remember that game for a long time.

Next up, Salina Central. The Mustangs are fresh off a rivalry win of their own, eliminating Salina South. Central has just one loss and has scored at least 30 points in 9 of its 11 games. Great Bend gave up 22 last week and 21 way back early in the season. All other opponents have been held to less than 19 points. That is where the game will be decided.

Give me Great Bend here. I think this team just cleared its biggest hurdle on the west side of the bracket and a showdown with St. James is waiting in the title game a week from Friday in Emporia.

As far as Hoisington is concerned, the Cardinals hit the road in the playoffs for the first time and will take on the defending state champions in Southeast of Saline. I’ve seen both of these teams as an official this year. Both had blowout wins, which has been the case nearly all season for these two.

The one thing that could swing this game is Southeast is playing without its starting QB. The same QB that was instrumental in winning the title last year. Now, let’s be clear, the Trojans have other weapons. Great weapons, mainly RB Grady Gebhardt. And that is where the game may be won and lost.

If Hoisington can limit Gebhardt - stopping him is probably not possible - the Cards can win this thing. Both teams have a pretty good defense. I think this thing stays in the 20s. The winner may hit 30. I’ll take Hoisington to get the W and set up a 2A title game rematch from a couple years ago with Nemaha Central a week from Saturday in Hutchinson.

And Finally

It appears year 26 is in the books. It was a year of adjustment for our football officiating crew. We lost our umpire Steve Webster to an injury early in the season. That forced a shuffle among the crew and a new member and/or members.

The injury forced us to move our line judge, Mike Myrick, into umpire and snag a youngster, Blaine Hickel, to fill the line judge spot for a majority of our games to finish out the season. It was a bit of an adjustment for a crew that had the same five guys for 15 years.

While Steve was out, he became a coach for Mike at umpire. He was his biggest critic when he first moved to the middle. ‘Don’t turn your back’. ‘Move up on a pass to see those linemen downfield’. As the year went along, Mike got more comfortable with the position. Steve’s criticism turned to accolades.

We added youth to many of our games with Blaine taking filling in at line judge. Just 20 years old and a good athlete, he brought some speed to the crew. But also at a young age and just in his 2nd year, Blaine had a learning curve. He carried himself well. That is part of the battle, especially on the sidelines. Coaches, knowing you are young, will work you. He handled that well and did a good job for us.

With the shuffling, our back judge, formally our youngster but now in his 15th year and in his 40s, Ty Racette stepped up to the plate to make things went more smoothly. Ty does a great job of seeing the field from that spot in the back. He did need to dip into the Icy Hot and Aleve as he gets a bit older.

Then there is our fearless leader. Jon Shaver, our white hat and crew chief. He led us through all the transitions we faced this year. Blaine even got to ‘that look’ he gives you sometimes when you throw a flag. It’s a mix of bewilderment and why did you do that. There is truly not a better white hat in the state.

So after 15 years of the same five people on the crew. The same five people knowing exactly what each other does. The same five people having complete confidence in each other. This year was different.

But the transition went well. The comradery was there. The fun was there. The ride to and from the games was still there with new friendships made in the process as Blaine blended in. Through it all, we did get a playoff game. Good stuff.

Year 26 was a successful year.

11/13/2025

At the Mike - November 13, 2025

Veterans Day, prep football playoffs, and some Northern Lights

Tuesday came and went with very little fanfare. Some, but not a lot.

It was Veteran’s Day. Formerly known as Armistice Day. It was originally meant to honor those who served in World War I. The armistice that ended that war was signed on Nov. 11 at 11 am – 11/11 and 11 am in 1918. We began observing Armistice Day in 1919. Originally it came with two minutes of silence at 11 am.

In 1954, thanks in part to Kansan and then president Dwight Eisenhower, the name was changed to honor not just those in WWI but all veterans who served in war. At the time that included World War II and the Korean War veterans.

At the Mike would like to say a big Thank You to all who have served to keep America the Land of the Free because, thanks to them, it is truly the Home of the Brave.

Again, Thank You!!

Prep Sports

Two area teams. Two wins. The playoffs keep rolling along for Great Bend and Hoisington. The 2-0 week pushed our season mark to 59-9 on the season. A clip of 87 percent.

This week those same two teams will once again be at home in sectional play as both try to advance to the sub-state round.

Great Bend gets its rival for the fourth time in two seasons as Hays makes the trip to Memorial Stadium. Earlier this year in Hays, Great Bend pulled away late for an impressive 43-19 win over the Indians.

It was the post-season last year that Hays ended Great Bend’s season with its first loss by a 19-14 count on a wet night at Memorial Stadium. That is the Panthers only loss in the last 20 games.

I think it remains the only loss in 21 games. Great Bend continues to roll along. Two playoff games. Two huge wins - 49-14 and 49-7. The closest wins this year was by 19 points. Great Bend has beaten their foes by more than 30 points in seven of its 10 wins. Dominating.

The Panthers have a chip on their shoulder after the playoff loss last year. Look for another double digit win here and a spot in sub-state against Salina Central or Salina South.

As far as Hoisington is concerned, the Cardinals have been equally as dominant as Great Bend. The Cards' closest game was a 14-point win over Cheney, a team still playing in 3A. In the past five games, the average score has been 63-12.

Garden Plain will be a much tougher foe than the Cards have seen over the past five weeks. The Owls only loss was a 28-7 setback to Cheney back in week three. They are fresh off a 31-14 win over a hot Beloit team and are averaging nearly 300 yards a game rushing the football.

But give me Hoisington here as a showdown with defending state champion Southeast of Saline awaits with the win.

And Finally

It was a simple Tuesday evening. I was sitting in my couch/recliner watching TV and relaxing. My lovely wife Crystal is scrolling through her phone making noises. I think she might have been talking to me, perhaps. I’m not sure.

Then she says ‘I want to go look at them’. At this point I figured she was indeed talking to me. So I started to pay attention, as a good husband should do. Anyways, I found out she was talking about the Northern Lights. People were posting things on Facebook.

Now I knew they were going to be visible Wednesday night. But this was Tuesday. ‘I want to go look’, she said once again. So we climbed in the car in the middle of the night to go look. Well, it was like 8 pm but it was dark outside. And I did have my pajama pants on. Same thing.

I throw on a hoodie and away we go. We head just north of town, find a spot and park. You could kind of see them with the naked eye, but through the lens of the phone camera, wow. Just wow. It was pretty dadgum cool. We watched for quite the while. Well, she snapped photos and talked in amazement. I agreed and looked at her pictures.

But perhaps the coolest photo she got Tuesday was from our driveway on the south side of our house in town. As you stood behind the house, you could definitely see a pinkish/red tint with the naked eye. But as you moved to the open space to the west of the house, it dissipated.

The house shielded enough of the lights in town to create the red glow. I walked back and forth several times in amazement of how different it looked just due to the house shielding the town lights. Crazy.

I had seen the Northern Lights before, but it has been a while back. It seems like the last few times hype about the Northern Lights built up, it was disappointing in the end. But not this time.

So, yeah, every once in a while it is a good thing to pay attention to the wife. At least it was a good idea in the middle of the night on Tuesday.

11/06/2025

At the Mike - November 6, 2025

November rolls in, a volleyball title, football playoffs and a penny for your thoughts

November is here. No shave November, right? Not for me, I tend to grow what one might call a hotel beard. I have a lot of vacancies.

Anyway, with the mention of November, one thing immediately comes to mind. Thanksgiving. It is one of my favorite holidays. Hands down.

Sunday the Crest Theatre will celebrate its 75th year anniversary. Step back in time with them with ticket prices and concession prices from the time period. The feature shown in 1950 will be shown again. Dress the part if you wish as prizes will be given for 1950s era dress.

Veteran’s Day is just around the corner as well on Nov. 11. This was always a good day growing up as Beloit had a great Veteran’s Day parade that our high school band would always go over and march in. Fun stuff.

Prep Sports

Congratulations to the Ellinwood volleyball team on not only their 2A state championship but doing it without at loss. An unbeaten season in volleyball is not the norm by any means.

Hoisington made it to Saturday at the 3A tournament, taking 4th. The Cardinals gave eventual champion Silver Lake their toughest contest in the semis, losing 25-22, 26-24.

Great Bend just missed the semis due to a tie-breaker as three teams went 1-2 in pool play with only one of those making the semis. The Panthers put together a nice run at the end of the season, winning 18 straight on the way to the state tournament.

In cross country, several area runners earned medals for finishing in the Top 20. As far as teams, the Great Bend girls were 6th and the boys 11th. The Ellinwood girls and boys finished 9th and the St. John boys 8th.

The highest finisher in the area for the boys was Stafford’s Joel Valadez, taking 3rd in 1A. Brody Rossman of Hoisington was 4th in 3A and Ryan Pohlman 19th in 2A for Ellinwood. Tavon Stroup of Great Bend just missed a medal with his 23rd place effort in 5A.

For the girls, Eleanor Joiner took 4th for Ellinwood in 2A and Taylin Davis 5th for Central Plains in 1A. For Great Bend, Decorah Schroeter was 14th while Sydney Stein just missed a medal, finishing 23rd. Both Panther runners are just freshmen.

Prep Sports - Football predictions

And then there were two. Just two area teams are left playing post season football after round one of the playoffs. Great Bend and Hoisington rolled to first round wins. Both look to be playing for a while. A 7-1 week leaves the season mark at 57-9.

The Panthers jumped to an early lead on Newton then coasted to a 49-14 win. Next on the docket is traditional power Bishop Carroll. The Eagles have been down the past few years but are currently riding a 3-game winning streak and have won 5 of 6. That won’t matter. Great Bend rolls here once again. Look for another 3-4 score win for the Panthers as they head into the quarterfinals and a possible rematch with Hays. Fun stuff.

Hoisington wasn’t necessarily pushed Friday in their win over Halstead but it did take a while to put the hammer down in a 74-24 win. Next on the slate is another CKL team in Hillsboro. Hillsboro escaped Ellsworth with an 18-17 win and should be more of a problem than Halstead. But Hoisington still wins this by a couple touchdowns at least.

Central Plains shot themselves in the foot more than once in a loss at Sylvan, a game we missed here At the Mike. St. John and Stafford lost playoff games while Ellinwood won a non-bracket game to close out the season. Larned and Macksville finished their season with losses in a non-bracket game.

And Finally

The old saying goes ‘a penny for your thoughts.’ Thoughts are getting tougher and tougher to get as penny production was stopped in May.

I guess it costs four cents to make a penny. Crazy, huh? So now we are closing in on a penny shortage.

It would take several pennies to corral my thoughts right now. They tend to be all over the place.

It has been pretty crazy the last week or so. Things always seem to fly along in October. That has once again been the case this year.

Starting last Monday morning with the passing of my mother, things have been crazy. The funeral isn’t slated until tomorrow. A long stretch of time, but that is pretty much how it had to be. Getting some closure this weekend will be nice.

On the football field, we, as a crew, got to see Hoisington one more time as they took care of Halstead in week 9 by a 74-24 score. Yes 98 total points. My feet were thankful that the game was on turf. Sore for sure, but it could have been worse. Man.

I will give some kudos to the First United Methodist Church here in Great Bend. Sunday was All Souls Day. Despite Becky Marzolf not being from here, they included her in their recognition. Her name was read, a candle was lit for her and a bell was tolled. She was a lifelong Methodist in Glen Elder. Thank you Pastor Robert. It was very touching to me.

It has been a tough stretch for our football crew. We have been together for 15 years but for the most part, we’ve known each for 20-plus years and are the best of friends.

Within a two week span, Mike Myrick lost his mother then his father followed by the loss of my mother. All situations where the brain says it’s okay but the heart tells you differently.

So as we roll into November, hopefully there is some more football for our crew. They do have a game Friday, which I am unable to make. Hopefully another playoff game is in the cards for our crew that I can make before the season ends.

November tends to be a slower paced month. More relaxing. I’m looking forward to just that.

Happy November folks.

10/30/2025

At the Mike - October 30, 2025

Cold weather rolls in, prep sports full steam ahead and an angel is headed to Heaven

Brrrr. Yep. Brrr. I am not a fan. At all.

But the weather has indeed changed. A string of 50s for highs and 30s for lows. Oh, and a lot of wind with it the past two days. Yeah, not a fan. At all.

The weather even wiped out the planned activities for downtown Great Bend this past Saturday. At least for Halloween itself Friday night the wind is supposed to be relatively calm at less than 10 mph. No precipitation is in the forecast either but temps will be low 50s to high 40s by the time the sun drops.

Obviously, there has been worse weather for Halloween. And, honestly, low 50s with no wind isn’t too dang bad.

You might need to add an extra layer of clothing, but it should be a pretty nice night of trick-or-treating.

Happy Halloween.

Prep Sports

State volleyball and state cross country. Let’s get after it.

The Great Bend boys and girls both qualified as a team for the state cross country meet taking place Saturday at Rim Rock in Lawrence. It is a course they run during the regular season and a very challenging one. The girls have won five straight Regional titles. It’s the first time the boys have earned a trip as a team in five years.

The Ellinwood boys and girls both took 2nd at the 2A Regional in Ellis and will be headed to state as a team as well. Ellinwood will be heading to Wamego. The St. John boys’ team will also be in Wamego for the 1A state meet after placing 3rd at Regionals.

As for volleyball, Great Bend and Ellinwood are headed to the state tournament.

Great Bend goes as the 6th seed. Pool play for the Panthers (27-9) will include 2nd seed Maize South (35-4), 3rd seed Blue Valley Southwest (33-4) and 7th seed Kapaun (27-10).

Ellinwood will take a 42-0 to the 2A state tournament as the top seed. In their pool will be 4th seed Humboldt (34-9), 5th seed Hillsboro (32-9) and 8th seed Rossville (28-13).

Prep Sports - Football predictions

The playoffs are here. The final week of the regular season didn’t provide a lot of surprises, setting up the brackets for the post season. A 7-0 mark now has At the Mike 50-8 on the season.

Playoffs, here we go.

Great Bend is the top seed on the West side of 5A and should have no issues with Newton Friday night. A 2nd round matchup would be the winner of Bishop Carroll and Valley Center.

Hoisington is in a similar position, coming in as the second seed in 2A. The Cardinals should easily get by Halstead with Hillsboro or Ellsworth waiting in the wings.

Central Plains finished third in a tough district in 8-man I and will head to Sylvan for its opener. This should be an interesting first round contest. Give me the Oilers in a close one.

In the 8-man II bracket, St. John will travel to Attica/Argonia for a repeat of the first round last year while Stafford heads to unbeaten Hutch Central Christian. Both area teams will likely see their season end.

In non-bracket play, look for Ellinwood to take care of Syracuse, Larned to lose at Norton and Macksville to come up short against Pretty Prairie as both teams look for their first win.

And Finally

Monday was a tough day. About 7:30 that morning I had a phone call from my sister. I had a feeling it was about our Mother. I was right. She told me Mom died. Man. What a way to start the week.

A little backstory, Mom had been in a rest home in Beloit and in hospice care. She had been placed in hospice before but outlived it. This time, though, she did not. Becky Marzolf had several mini strokes in her later life. She was 85.

The last few years have been tough. Her ability to walk, talk, and see were pretty much gone. She was able to listen and understand. A smile from her face in the last couple of years was priceless. Absolutely priceless.

It had been a downward spiral since my dad Jack died of a heart attack on Father’s Day in 2020. They had been together for nearly 65 years. Wow. Losing him was tough for all of us, but especially for her.

While the phone call from my sister was a surprise, it wasn’t a surprise. It was a situation where your head tells you it’s okay. She hasn’t been the person you knew for a couple of years. The pain is now gone. The struggle is over. She is with Dad once again.

But your heart has a different idea. It is full of sadness. Grief. It’s tough. I was a ‘Momma’s boy’.

The day brought a mix of feelings for me. As my heart hurt, I couldn’t help but smile at some of the comments folks made about remembering her.

The memories that people posted about her made me tear up as well as laugh. She touched a lot of lives in her time. My friends were her family as well. That was mentioned on several occasions. Her willingness to be ‘Mom’ or ‘Grandma’ to some of my closest friends and my daughter’s friends was unmatched.

I teared up when I read what my daughter Katelyn wrote about her on Facebook. It was truly a wonderful tribute to her. Katelyn was 4-years old when her and my now wife Crystal entered my life. My mother (and father) took them in immediately as their own. Completely and without hesitation. This is who she was.

My mother loved to jet ski and water ski, well into her 50s. I had her playing on a women’s softball team into her mid 40s against 20 and 30-year olds. She was an excellent bowler. She and her doubles partner won the state championship in her 40s as well.

The Fourth of July was a big holiday for her. Lots of fireworks, grilled hamburgers and the best homemade ice cream you will ever eat. She could crochet a mean blanket or anything she wanted.

But mostly, she had an absolute heart of gold. I am truly lucky that I had her as a mother. I love you, Becky Marzolf. The pain is now gone. Heaven truly got themselves an angel.

At the Mike

12/11/2025

12/06/2025

11/20/2025

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10/30/2025

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