Post by jimsteel on Sept 24, 2015 0:10:23 GMT -5
POSTED ON FACEBOOK BY Jason Sanderson
I learned this evening of the passing of a dear, dear friend; Percival A. (Al) Friend.
He was a wrestling manager, spokesman and ambassador for the Business for many years working for Gus Karas and Bob Geigle and Heart of America promotions out of Kansas City.
Known for his jaunty tam-o-shanter and briefcase, he managed such stars as Black Angus, among others. Some of the other wrestling greats that he worked with were Omar Atlas and the voice of wrestling, Bill Kirsten.
I met Al through the CAC, the source of so many of my dearest friends. His sense of humor and laughter are what I remember most. There was hardly ever a time when he couldn't keep things in high gear.
Watching him play cribbage with Larry Hennig was always worth the price of admission.
Al was a lover of old TV and Radio shows, and was always getting me CDs of my favorites…"The Shadow", "X Minus One", "Dragnet" and many others. I think his goal in life was to ensure that I had every Marx Brothers and Three Stooges performance ever made. He might have missed a couple, but he came damn close!
Al was also a lover of Bluegrass and would travel anywhere he could reach by car to attend a bluegrass festival. He was a close friend to many of the bluegrass artists and could name performers in most of the New England states.
At the CAC, he helped supervise our annual cribbage tournament, which not only helped raise money for the Club's Benevolent Fund, but also helped give some of the fans the opportunity to meet and play against some of the wrestling legends and provide the wrestlers to have a chance to sit and visit with each other.
I had the privilege of having Al attend one of my Hallowe'en Balls a few years back, and in appreciation, he had his uncle do a special stained glass for me, with my family's monogram on it. He honored me by making it a special presentation at the following CAC banquet.
Hardly a day went by when I didn't open up my emails to see at least one, maybe more, of his emails with inspirational videos, bad jokes or old pictures.
These were the little ways that he let you know he was thinking about you and you were important to him.
Al and I had another connection, we were both Freemasons. Al was a Past Master and I was a past Senior Warden and we were friends with many other CAC members who were also Brothers. We sometimes talked about getting the Grand Lodge of Nevada to give us permission to charter a 'traveling lodge' for wrestlers, to meet at the reunions. I guess we'll have to wait until we gather in the Celestial Lodge for that.
According to the family, there will be no service for him.
Well, maybe not there…..
This Sunday, September 27, I will be holding a Requiem Mass for him at 10:00am.
For all of his friends that can't make it, here is how you can honor his memory:
1.) Call up someone you haven't talked to in awhile and tell them an old joke.
2.) Listen to a classic radio program or a classic TV show.
3.) Go for a long drive.
4.) Listen to some bluegrass music.
5.) Let people know how much they mean to you!
R. I. P. old Friend! The CAC won't be the same without you….
I was privileged to know all of the men in this picture: Percival "Al" Friend, Sir Oliver Humperkink and Percy Pringle. I was privileged to call them all friends and I look forward to the time when we will meet again…when the laughter will ring out once more and the BS will (continue!) to flow like water!
I learned this evening of the passing of a dear, dear friend; Percival A. (Al) Friend.
He was a wrestling manager, spokesman and ambassador for the Business for many years working for Gus Karas and Bob Geigle and Heart of America promotions out of Kansas City.
Known for his jaunty tam-o-shanter and briefcase, he managed such stars as Black Angus, among others. Some of the other wrestling greats that he worked with were Omar Atlas and the voice of wrestling, Bill Kirsten.
I met Al through the CAC, the source of so many of my dearest friends. His sense of humor and laughter are what I remember most. There was hardly ever a time when he couldn't keep things in high gear.
Watching him play cribbage with Larry Hennig was always worth the price of admission.
Al was a lover of old TV and Radio shows, and was always getting me CDs of my favorites…"The Shadow", "X Minus One", "Dragnet" and many others. I think his goal in life was to ensure that I had every Marx Brothers and Three Stooges performance ever made. He might have missed a couple, but he came damn close!
Al was also a lover of Bluegrass and would travel anywhere he could reach by car to attend a bluegrass festival. He was a close friend to many of the bluegrass artists and could name performers in most of the New England states.
At the CAC, he helped supervise our annual cribbage tournament, which not only helped raise money for the Club's Benevolent Fund, but also helped give some of the fans the opportunity to meet and play against some of the wrestling legends and provide the wrestlers to have a chance to sit and visit with each other.
I had the privilege of having Al attend one of my Hallowe'en Balls a few years back, and in appreciation, he had his uncle do a special stained glass for me, with my family's monogram on it. He honored me by making it a special presentation at the following CAC banquet.
Hardly a day went by when I didn't open up my emails to see at least one, maybe more, of his emails with inspirational videos, bad jokes or old pictures.
These were the little ways that he let you know he was thinking about you and you were important to him.
Al and I had another connection, we were both Freemasons. Al was a Past Master and I was a past Senior Warden and we were friends with many other CAC members who were also Brothers. We sometimes talked about getting the Grand Lodge of Nevada to give us permission to charter a 'traveling lodge' for wrestlers, to meet at the reunions. I guess we'll have to wait until we gather in the Celestial Lodge for that.
According to the family, there will be no service for him.
Well, maybe not there…..
This Sunday, September 27, I will be holding a Requiem Mass for him at 10:00am.
For all of his friends that can't make it, here is how you can honor his memory:
1.) Call up someone you haven't talked to in awhile and tell them an old joke.
2.) Listen to a classic radio program or a classic TV show.
3.) Go for a long drive.
4.) Listen to some bluegrass music.
5.) Let people know how much they mean to you!
R. I. P. old Friend! The CAC won't be the same without you….
I was privileged to know all of the men in this picture: Percival "Al" Friend, Sir Oliver Humperkink and Percy Pringle. I was privileged to call them all friends and I look forward to the time when we will meet again…when the laughter will ring out once more and the BS will (continue!) to flow like water!
