W I L D C A T V I L L E: December 2020

Thursday, December 31, 2020

University of Toronto 'Varsity Blues' morn loss of Wildcat Bob Laycoe, Linfield Class of 1968

U of T posted: 12/31/2020 1:33:00 PM

It is with deep sadness that the University of Toronto Varsity Blues announce the passing of long-time football coach Bob Laycoe on Monday, December 28.

"We are deeply saddened to hear of Bob's passing", stated Beth Ali, executive director of athletics and physical activity at the University of Toronto. "He was a tremendous leader, a proven winner, a great coach and outstanding mentor to so many football student-athletes. His contributions to our program go beyond the well documented accolades on the football field. His legacy and impact continues to shine through the many lives he touched."

Laycoe was the Blues football head coach from 1988-2001 and guided U of T to the 1993 Yates and Vanier Cup championship titles. Over his 14 seasons, he not only led the program to a national title, he earned OUA coach of the year honours in 1992 and had 14 CFL-draftees including, CFL all-star Rob Crifo, Grey Cup champion and current head coach of the Alberta Golden Bears, Chris Morris, 1998 Grey Cup champion Jung-Yul Kim, and current Hamilton Tiger-Cats chief operating officer Scott Mitchell.

He, along with the 1993 team, was inducted into U of T's Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.

Although Laycoe coached football for three decades, it was not his only role. He also served as a mentor and an inspirational leader to his players, founded on the belief of a holistic approach to the development of a complete student-athlete.

"I have tried to give my players something they will remember and carry with them through life," Laycoe said in a 2002 interview with The Varsity. "That's what football is all about, so much more than just winning and losing."

Many former Varsity Blues reached out to express their words of thanks and admiration for Coach Laycoe, including 1992 OUA top lineman and two-time all-Canadian David Scandiffio. "Bob Laycoe was an incredible leader who challenged those around him to face adversity head on, and in the process elevate themselves to achieve greater things than they knew were even imaginable," said Scandiffio, the current president & CEO of CIBC asset management. "He did this with incredible calm, integrity, dedication and compassion for those around him."

Prior to his time at U of T, Laycoe served four years as head coach and athletic director at the University of Saskatchewan. He also spent time as the head coach the UBC T-Birds wrestling team, while also serving as the football team's defensive coordinator.

Laycoe earned 1978 Canadian university wrestling coach of the year honours and helped the football team to two Vanier Cup championships while at UBC.

Bob is survived by his wife of 52 years, Suzanne and children David and Tonya and granddaughter Stevie in British Colombia, brother Bryan in Ridgefield, Washington, and sister Rhonda in Portland.

No phone calls please. However, if you wish to send condolence cards and notes to Bob's wife, use address:

Suzanne Laycoe 107 Taggart Crescent RR1 Site 206 Comp5 Kaledon, BC Canada V0H1K0

Emails to Suzanne Laycoe, Bob's wife, to address: bobsuzannelaycoe@gmail.com

https://varsityblues.ca/news/2020/12/31/football-blues-mourn-loss-of-bob-laycoe.aspx?

Pair (Roy Helser, Paul Durham) of Wildcat Gridders in 1935

Roy Helser, full back (on left), and Paul Durham, 200-pound tackle, of the Linfield college football squad which will be pitted against the University of Portland team on Civic Stadium field Saturday afternoon. (Tue., Oct. 15, 1935, Oregon Journal, Portland, about game to be played Sat., Oct. 19, 1935, at “Multnomah Civic stadium,” Portland.)

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

Sad news from British Columbia, Canada: Bob Laycoe, Linfield Wildcat, died 28 Dec 2020

The Laycoe twins, Bryan and Robert, were born Oct 9, 1947, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Sad news from British Columbia, Canada:

Bob Laycoe, Linfield Wildcat, died 28 Dec 2020

Bob Laycoe, 73, Linfield Class of 1968, who played football for the Wildcats and wrestled, too, has died.

Dr. Bryan Laycoe, his twin brother – both graduated from Portland’s Cleveland High School, Bryan went on to L&C and OHSU Medical School – said Bob “died (Dec. 28. 2020) …from complications of his Parkinson's Disease in local hospital in Canada.”

He said, “Family may decide on celebration of life in spring when Covid is under control.”

Survivors include Suzanne, Bob’s wife of 52 years, and their children, David and Tonya and granddaughter Stevie, all in British Colombia; brother Bryan in Ridgefield, Washington, and sister Rhonda in Portland.

The two photos posted here were Bob’s favourites. One shows Bob as a Linfield football player. The other represents Bob’s football coaching career at Canadian universities.

Here is Bob’s obituary provided by Bryan on behalf of the Laycoe family.

ROBERT RICHARDSON “BOB” LAYCOE

Bob Laycoe, legendary sports figure, died suddenly on December 28th, 2020, from complications from cumulative traumatic encephalopathy and secondary Parkinson’s disease. His family was at his side in hospital in Penticton, British Columbia. His Parkinson’s had progressed over decades. He was 73.

Bob and his parents, Hal and Marjorie, and the Laycoe family were amongst a group of Canadians who came to Portland in the summer of 1960. Hal, coached the new Portland Buckaroos Hockey team for 9 years. During that time these Canadians had the best record in professional hockey.

Bob, identical twin Bryan and their sister, Rhonda, attended Portland’s Cleveland High. Bob thrived on contact sports. At Cleveland he played football for Coach Gene Flippin and wrestled for Coach Don York. Success followed him.

He went on To Linfield College and played for the football Wildcats under Coach Paul Durham. He also wrestled.

Upon graduation in 1968 he married Suzanne Lind and moved to Vancouver, BC. He Mastered (1969) in Kinesiology and played another year of football for the Thunderbirds at University of British Columbia. He also won 4 Canadian Titles in wrestling.

Bob went into football coaching with Frank Smith at UBC, from 1973 to 1987, winning two National Championships. He was in Vancouver while his father, Hal, coached the Vancouver Canucks in the NHL. Eventually he and Sue went to Toronto to coach the University of Toronto “Varsity Blues” from 1988 to 2002. He won another National Championship (Vanier Cup) in 1993. His motto for his teams was posted to inspire when they went onto the field, “Remember Who You Are.”

When his neurological disorder forced his early retirement they moved to the Okanagan in British Columbia. He enjoyed fishing and art work and his family.

Hall of Fame Awards followed him from Cleveland High to Linfield, to University of British Columbia and to University of Toronto. The Frank Smith and Bob Laycoe Varsity Training Facility was established at UBC.

Bob is survived by his wife of 52 years, Suzanne and children David and Tonya and granddaughter Stevie in British Colombia, brother Bryan in Ridgefield, Washington, and sister Rhonda in Portland.

::::::::::::::::::::::

No phone calls please.

However, if you wish to send condolence cards and notes to Bob’s wife, use address:

Suzanne Laycoe

107 Taggart Crescent

RR1 Site 206

Comp5

Kaledon, BC

Canada

V0H1K0

Emails to Suzanne Laycoe, Bob’s wife, to address:

bobsuzannelaycoe@gmail.com

To contact Bob’s brother, Bryan Laycoe, use address:

laycoe@aol.com

More about Bob at these Wildcatville blog postings:

= Bob Laycoe, former Wildcat football standout, started at Linfield as a 16-year-old

http://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2020/07/bob-laycoe-former-wildcat-football.html

= Laycoe name has certain (hockey) ring(s) to it!

http://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2020/11/laycoe-name-has-certain-hockey-rings-to.html

= Fierce Gene Forman, Linfielder (Eugene R-G story from 1975)

http://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2020/11/fierce-gene-forman-linfielder.html

=Speaking of ice hockey, Hal and Bob Laycoe

http://wildcatville.blogspot.com/2020/11/speaking-of-ice-hockey-hal-and-bob.html

Monday, December 28, 2020

Dorothy Evelyn Wall Helser

Dorothy Evelyn Wall Helser

BIRTH 11 Jun 1915 Everett, Snohomish County, Washington, USA

DEATH 20 Nov 2013 (aged 98) McMinnville, Yamhill County, Oregon, USA

BURIAL Evergreen Memorial Park McMinnville, Yamhill County, Oregon, USA

Obituary and information posted at Find-A-Grave (dot) com. Photos posted by Wildcatville blog.

Dorothy "Grama" Helser, joined her Lord on November 20, 2013 at the age of 98. Memorial services will be held on December 14 at the Carlton First Baptist Church, at 2 pm, with Pastor Kevin Cope and former Pastor Sid Johnson officiating. Private interment will be held at Evergreen Cemetery in McMinnville.

Dorothy was born June 11, 1915 in Everett, Washington to parents Walter and Hulda Wall. She grew up in Bremerton before attending Linfield College from 1933 to 1936 where she met her husband, Roy Helser.

They were the first married couple to attend Linfield together which required approval from the President of Linfield, then graduated together in 1936.

Husband Roy played professional baseball for the Portland Beavers for over ten years while they raised three children. Following Roy's baseball retirement, the family moved back from Portland to McMinnville where Roy coached at Linfield. Dorothy went back to Linfield to get her teaching degree and taught elementary school for 5 years then French and Spanish at McMinnville High for 20 years. They retired to their beach house at Devils Lake and Dorothy taught Spanish for an additional four years at Taft High.

Dorothy and Roy loved living at the coast where she worked in her garden, supported her church, and hosted many dear friends and family. They moved back to McMinnville in the early 1980s, where she passionately supported Linfield, volunteering with the Alumni Association and often attended Linfield football, basketball and baseball games.

She taught Bible studies twice a week, read like she was making up for lost time, enjoyed many crafts and church activities, and helped out her dear friends who had lost spouses.

Dorothy is survived by her sons Denny Helser and wife Kathleen Janzen (Salem), Roy Helser Jr. and wife Jennifer Helser (Lincoln City), daughter Susan Petersen and husband Wayne Petersen (Washougal), nine grandchildren, twelve great grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild. She will be tremendously missed by all.

Dorothy and Roy Helser.

Dorothy and Roy Helser on their wedding day.

Dorothy Helser, widow of the late Roy Helser, who served as Linfield athletic director, baseball and men's basketball coach and assistant football coach, poses in this Wildcatville photo taken 11/19/2012 with a collage which includes representation of his baseball playing and coaching career.

MORRIS RODNEY 'MORRIE' HELSER, 1913-1996 and MARION PATRICIA HELSER, 1916-2011

Morrie Helser photo included in a Jan. 4, 1948, story in the Portland Oregonian newspaper.

BOTH PACKARDS, BOTH HELSERS: Morrie (left) and Roy Helser, brothers, lend scoring power to Portland's Pacific Packards independent basketball team which will honor their sponsor, Joe Sherman, Monday night when they play Hop Gold in the American league. (Oregon Journal, Portland, Ore., Dec 13, 1936)

MORRIS RODNEY “MORRIE” HELSER

(Sources: Oregonian newspaper, Portland, Ore., November 18, 1996, and research by Wildcatville blog in December 4 2020.)

Morris Rodney “Morrie” Helser, died Nov. 9, 1996, at age 83.

Morrie was born July 17, 1913, in Portland where he spent his life. He graduated in 1933 from Benson High School (also known as Benson Polytechnic High School and Benson Tech) in Portland and in 1937 from Linfield College in McMinnville, Ore.

He starred playing football, basketball and baseball for Benson. Mr. Helser was a member of Benson High's Portland Interscholastic League championship basketball team in 1932 and he was a second team all-star in the state high school championship basketball tournament that year. At Linfield he was a standout, too, in the same three sports.

After college he played softball and basketball. Mr. Helser twice played in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) Independent Basketball championship tournament in Denver. In 1956, he was in the first group of players inducted into the Portland Men's Softball Hall of Fame. He later became a golfer.

He owned and operated Helser Brothers Transfer Co., a family company which started in 1902. Read more about the company here: https://www.volgagermansportland.info/helser-bros-transfer-company.html

Survivors include his wife, Marion of Tigard; daughters, Toni Sullybrook of Troutdale, Becky Huggins of Victor, N.Y., and Leslie Helser of Portland; son, Jim of Gresham; six grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.

At his request there was no memorial service. Private burial was at Skyline Memorial Gardens, Portland, Ore.

The family suggested remembrances to the Mexican Medical Clinic through Morrie and Marion’s church, Southwest Hills Baptist Church, at 9100 S.W. 135th Ave., Beaverton.

::: About a photo posted here … BOTH PACKARDS, BOTH HELSERS: Morrie (left) and Roy Helser, brothers, lend scoring power to Portland’s Pacific Packards independent basketball team, which will honor their sponsor, Joe Sherman, Monday night when they play Hop Gold in the American league. (Oregon Journal, Portland, Ore., Dec 13, 1936).

Marion Patricia Helser photo from her obituary

MARION PATRICIA HELSER

24 Sept. 1916–13 Aug. 2011

(Sources: Dignity Memorial in 2011 and research by Wildcatville blog in December 2020.)

Marion Patricia Meyer Helser passed away of causes related to age on Aug. 11, 2011. She was 94 years old.

Marion was preceded in death by her husband, Morris Rodney “Morrie” Helser; owner/operator of Helser Brothers Transfer Co., Portland, Ore. Read more about the company here: https://www.volgagermansportland.info/helser-bros-transfer-company.html

She is survived by three daughters and a son: Toni Sullybrook of Troutdale, OR; Becky Huggins of Denver, Colo.; Leslie Helser of Portland, Ore.; Jim Helser of Gresham, Ore.; six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Helser was born Sept. 24, 1916, in Alberta, Canada. She later moved to Puyallup, Washington, where she attended Puyallup High School. In McMinnville, Ore., she attended Linfield College, where she met her husband, Morrie. They were married 58 years.

She was a member of Southwest Hills Baptist Church in Beaverton, Oregon; a member of Summerfield Golf Club and a former member of Riverside Golf and Country Club. Marion was an accomplished golfer. She also enjoyed walking, playing bridge, gardening and daily Bible study.

Private burial was at Skyline Memorial Gardens. At her request, no funeral service was held. Remembrances were suggested to Alzheimer's Association.

Arrangements were under the direction of Skyline Memorial Gardens Funeral Home, Portland, Ore.

Roy Helser (1911-1994) showed flashes of brilliance in baseball: McMinnville man was a star player and later coached Linfield to a national title

Helser showed flashes of brilliance in baseball: McMinnville man was a star player and later coached Linfield to a national title

(Sources: Salem, Ore., Statesman Journal, newspaper, Oct. 27, 1994, with additional information from Wildcatville blog in 2020.)

Roy Helser, a baseball pitcher and later coach, made his mark in Salem and two other Willamette Valley communities.

Helser died Tuesday at his home in McMinnville of causes related to age. He was 83.

The left-hander played professional baseball for the Salem Senators of the Northwest League in 1940 and 1941.

Al Lightner, a longtime sports figure in Salem as a player, official and journalist, played with Helser on the Salem teams.

"He won 15 games for us on Salem's first professional team," Lightner said. "He was out to win. He wasn't a quitter."

Lightner said Helser played semipro with the Silverton Red Sox before joining the Senators. "I remember when he hit a ball at McGinnis Field (Silverton) that went the way up the tele phone pole and landed over on the railroad yards," Lightner said. "Not a lot of people knew it, but he could hit."

Lightner said the Senators sent a telegram trying to sell Helser to the Portland Beavers in 1942. "But they said he wasn't good enough," Lightner said.

Helser finally joined Portland in late 1942 after playing with the San Francisco Seals earlier that year. He stayed with Portland until 1952 and was a member of Portland's 1945 Pacific Coast League pennant winning team.

Helser was part of the team during the days when crowds packed the old Vaughn Street ballpark. He had consecutive 20-win seasons in 1944, '45 and '46.

Helser played semipro ball for the Drain Black Sox from 1951-53, and his catcher was Bill Beard, also a former Salem Senator. (Helser also was a Black Sox manager.) Beard, a three-sport star at Willamette from 1935-37, managed the Senators in 1949. Lightner said: "Almost every weekend, it would be Helser and Beard. That combination was hard to beat."

Helser taught and coached at Oregon high schools for two academic years. During the 1941-1942 academic year at Lebanon, Ore., High School he was head football, head boys’ basketball and head baseball coach. In Portland during the 1944-1945 academic year he was head boys’ basketball coach at Central Catholic High School.

Helser became a legend in McMinnville, where he was an athlete and later coached baseball at Linfield College.

Helser coached for 21 years, winning 14 Northwest Conference championships and the NAIA national title in 1966. He also was head basketball coach and assistant football coach at Linfield for several years. Helser was athletic director at Linfield for four years before retiring in 1972.

"He was one of the greatest competitors I have ever known," said Ad Rutschman, former Linfield football coach who played baseball and basketball for Helser at the school. Linfield's baseball field was named after Helser in a formal dedication in 1973.

Helser was named to the NAIA Hall of Fame and to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.

Helser's family has asked that contributions be made to the Roy and Dorothy Helser Baseball Scholarship Fund at Linfield.

ROY HERMAN HELSER

(Sources: By Wildcatville blog in December 2020 based on information from various sources.)

Born August 27, 1911, in Portland, Ore., Roy Herman Helser died at age 83 on Oct. 25, 1994, in the McMinnville, Ore., home he shared with his wife, Dorothy Evelyn Wall Helser.

Roy grew up in Portland, Ore. A variety of sports were an important part of his life from youth to old age. Out of the sports he played, baseball was his favorite. A left-handed fireball throwing pitcher, his nickname was “Lefty.” He was also called “The Bear” and “Bear.” As able as he was pitching, he also had a powerful bat producing many home runs and other hits.

Mr. Helser graduated from Benson High School in Portland in 1929 and was a member of Linfield College (McMinnville, Ore.,) Class of 1936.

After graduating from Benson he didn't immediately start classes, in 1929, as a freshman at Linfield. Instead, he began classes as a freshman at Linfield in 1932. It was the Depression when he graduated from Benson. It’s assumed he worked to earn money to attend college before enrolling at Linfield.

He left Linfield in 1936 to play professional baseball. He returned to Linfield in 1941 and earned his diploma in that year from Linfield.

At Benson, Roy played football and basketball. It's assumed he played baseball for Benson, too, but information confirming that hard to find. At Linfield as a student, Roy Helser played football, basketball and baseball, earning 11 Linfield cardinal athletic letters.

It was at Linfield that he met Dorothy, a student from Bremerton, Wash. They married Aug.11, 1935, in Kitsap County, Wash. Dorothy died at age 98 on Nov. 20, 2013, in McMinnville.

Roy and Dorothy were the first married couple to attend Linfield together which required approval from Elam Anderson, Linfield College president. The Helsers were members of Linfield Class of 1936 but, she graduated in 1936 and he in 1941.

Roy played professional baseball for the Portland Beavers and other teams for more than 10 years while Dorothy and Roy raised three children. Following Roy's baseball retirement, the family moved from Portland to McMinnville where Roy coached at Linfield.

As head baseball coach he led he Linfield Wildcats in 1966 to the NAIA national baseball title. It was the college’s first national title. In 21 seasons, 1950-1970, his baseball teams won 14 Northwest Conference championships, six second-places and one third-place finish. He also coached the 1941 Linfield baseball team.

He also was co-head coach with Paul Durham (1949-1952) and later head coach (1952-1961) of Linfield men’s basketball. Those teams won four Northwest Conference titles. He also was an assistant football coach on Wildcat teams coached by Durham.

Roy Helser “also made a mark as a semi-pro player and manager in a time when that carried considerable weight, first with the Silverton Red Sox, then with the Drain Black Sox (in Oregon)," said a 1994 Oregonian story reflecting on his life.

After retiring as baseball coach after the 1970 season, he served as Linfield director of athletics (1968-1973).

He’s a member of the Linfield Athletics Hall of Fame. Helser Field, home of Linfield baseball on the McMinnville campus, is named for him. In addition he is enshrined in the NAIA (National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics) National Hall of Fame and the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame.

Roy and Dorothy retired to their beach house on the Oregon coast at Devil’s Lake in 1973. While loved living there, they moved back to McMinnville in 1987.

Survivors include his wife; sons, J. Dennis of Salem and Roy Jr. of Portland; daughter, Susan Petersen of Tualatin; brother, Morris of Tigard; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.