Guy P. Demaio a longtime Player Rep for Pennsylvania and avid support of ASA softball has passed away. His obituary is below.
March 17, 1938 – November 24, 2018
Guy Patrick Demaio, 80, of South Cedar Street, New Castle, died Saturday, November 24, 2018 at UPMC Jameson Hospital in New Castle. He was born March 17, 1938 in Wampum, a son of the late Guy Anthony and Violet (Cini) Demaio. He was married to the late Lucille A. (Copple) Demaio who died November 27, 2002. Mr. Demaio was a Reading and English teacher at Mohawk Jr./Sr. High School retiring after 38 years. He coached multiple sports at Mohawk and was not only a teacher and coach, but a mentor to many students throughout his career. For his 50 plus years of dedication to softball Guy was District 9 Commissioner, Central Atlantic Regional Vice President for USA/ASA, was an Olympic Delegate and PAN AM Games Softball Coach, and was enshrined in the Lawrence County Historical Society Sports Hall of Fame, ASA of Pennsylvania Hall of Fame, USA/ASA of America National Hall of Fame and received numerous awards for his service to softball.
He is survived by three daughters, Angi Marie Condas and husband Jeff of New Castle, Patti Ann Kelley and companion Anthony Gentile of New Castle, and Marci Lynn Demaio of Pittsburgh, one brother, Larry DeMaio and wife Mary of Las Vegas, NV, four grandchildren, Julien DeMaio, Matthew Condas, Patrick Kelley, and Kirk Kelley, II, three step-grandchildren, and his companion, Zelda K. Lynch of Anaheim, CA.
He was also preceded in death by his sister Domenica Demaio.
Visitation will be held at the William F. & Roger M. DeCarbo Funeral Home, 926 Cunningham Avenue on Wednesday, November 28, 2018 from 4 PM to 7 PM.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Thursday, November 29, 2018 at 11:00 AM at St. Vincent de Paul Church. A funeral procession will leave the funeral home at 10:30 AM. Burial will be in the St. Lucy Cemetery.
SERVICES
Visitation
Wednesday, November 28, 2018 at 4:00 PM – 7:00 PM
William F. & Roger M. DeCarbo Funeral Home, Inc.
926 Cunningham Avenue
New Castle, Pennsylvania 16101
Mass of Christian Burial
Thursday, November 29, 2018 at 11:00 AM
St. Vincent de Paul Church
1 Lucymont Dr.
New Castle, PA 16102
When Guy Demaio talked, people stopped and listened.
He made sure of it.
“When Guy was fighting for something or wanted to get his point across, he wasn’t bashful. He spoke loudly and convincingly. Everyone stopped and gave him their attention,” said Craig Cress, the executive director of USA Softball based in Oklahoma City. “Yet he was a true gentleman through and through. I never met a person who didn’t like Guy.
“The USA Softball family is a true family and we are in deep mourning right now over the loss of this great man.”
Demaio died Saturday at the age of 80. His calling hours and funeral will be attended by representatives from several states of USA Softball (formerly the Amateur Softball Association) of which Demaio was a well-known and much-revered member.
Cress said he first met Demaio in the early 1990s at an annual council meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. Demaio was an at-large player representative and one of about 290 national voting members.
“Guy represented the players very well — he definitely had their best interests at heart,” Cress said. “He was hands-on. He went to the ballparks and understood what the players wanted. He was very firm when telling council members what their needs were. He protected the players every step of the way.”
The Mahoningtown resident worked with the ASA for well over a half-century, starting as a Pennsylvania district commissioner in 1961. He went on to become Central Atlantic Regional Vice President for ASA/USA softball and was an Olympic delegate and Pan Am Games softball coach. He was inducted into the ASA Hall of Fame in 2010.
Steve Fee worked with Demaio from the time he was 14 years old and considered him a mentor and one of his best friends. He will deliver a eulogy at Demaio’s funeral tomorrow.
“Guy’s uncle Dominick Short and Dom Verdi ran the 7th Ward League,” Fee said. “I went to the Mahoning School with his youngest daughter, Marci, and she would sometimes invite me home for lunch That’s when I first met Guy’s wife, Lucille. I didn’t see Guy much at first because he was teaching school and coaching at Mohawk, but I started helping out at the ballfield keeping score and after the older guys got out, Guy ran the league and Lucille ran the concession stand.”
In the fall of 1982, Fee began to umpire and later worked hand-in-hand with Demaio as umpire-in-chief of District 9 and the western area while Demaio served as District 9 commissioner.
“Guy had guts,” Fee said. “If he thought something was right, he would fight for it. He spoke well, addressed people well and wrote well. Locally, he was well-respected. Nationally, he was just as well-respected.”
Henry Frengel also worked closely with Demaio in the ASA as Junior Olympic commissioner and as an umpire.
“Guy meant so much to me — he was my teacher, my role model and my friend,” Frengel said. “He was almost like a second father to me since the passing of my dad in November of 2007.
“Guy was special, one of a kind,” he added. “He touched the lives of so many people in so many ways. Everyone who met Guy knew he was genuine — he always had a story to tell or kind words to say about someone that truly came from the heart. He cared about you and your family and would do anything to help you. Guy was able to remember the people in the game and to him people were always most important.
“Softball will never be the same without this old man watching the game and talking about the game.”
From the New Castle News: http://www.ncnewsonline.com/sports/local_sports/asa-and-usa-softball-family-mourns-passing-of-a-longtime/article_47a60b31-27ae-5c83-88c8-7a1c19ef7120.html
