6/28/03
Sylvia Doreen Spanihel, 51. Born St. Joseph's Hospital, Houston, Texas. Graduate of Waltrip High School 1970, she died as a result of non-responsive Ovarian Cancer that began to destroy the life she loved in September 2002.
Sylvia was past president of Desk and Derrick, an Oil Industry Organization for men and women. She was also many times a Volunteer Director of the Downtown YMCA, past officer of the Houston Hash Harriers and the Bayou City Running Club.
She was an avid runner, golfer, gourmet chef, and gardener. She was never happier than when she was with friends, or, working on trips or outing for friends.
She is survived by her husband of fourteen years, John, her two cats, and a loving family that includes her parents, a brother, a sister, and their children and families. In addition, she leaves behind hundreds of dear friends whose lives have been enriched by her time with them.
She will miss her Enjet Family as well, where she worked for many years. Enjet supported her through not only the best times of her life, but in the past year, the worst times as well. Pete, Don, Leslie, Tish, Beverly, Lisa- everyone- thank you so much!
Her heartfelt thanks to all her family and friends for their hard work, prayers, and support; with a special thanks to the medical staff of St. Luke's Hospital and the office of Dr. Michael Bevers. Your many kindnesses will always be remembered.
Funeral arrangements, to be announced, will include a Catholic Mass followed by a Memorial Luncheon with beer and Bar-B-Que. One more party for a party girl…
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To All,
It is my duty, as friend and husband, to forward to all of you the sad news= that Sylvia passed away this morning (Saturday) about 5:20 AM.
As many of you already know, she had grown increasingly weak over the past = months. Despite an optimistic hospital admission yesterday, she passed away = suddenly this morning. I was with her in the room and was very surprised how= quickly this happened. Perhaps it is a blessing this way.
She seemed to be in no pain, in only mild distress, and went suddenly and c= ompletely in a few moments. As she had a DNR order in place, the best I coul= d do at the time was encourage her to go with the angels. I hope that this i= s exactly what happened.
I will be on automatic pilot for a few days, weeks, and months. You know Sy= lvia, always planning ahead... I have my assignments....
And, you should all know two things about this remarkable person:
First, she loved life.
Second, she really loved people.
If you're reading this, that includes you....
And, her greatest concern in passing was what was going to become of the re= st of us.
That's our girl. We have all known a lovely person, haven't we?
Please to not send flowers. Cards are fine. Phone calls and invitations to = do things in the coming months are even better.
(I can plan too.)
She did ask that donations be made to Ovarian Cancer Research. Pick a numbe= r now, while you're in the mood, and when I get back to you with the address= es of the places she had in mind, follow through...
Thank you all (and this is from Sylvia as much as me) for all your love and= support in all our lives, not just today's events.
Thank you very very much.
In closing, about the best I can do is attach (below) the draft of her obit= uary that I was working on from her own notes.
Always a planner...
JG
----- Original Message -----
From: "michael anderson" <[email protected]>
Subject: Top Five Fave Memories of "Cocker"
> Hola amigos,
> I won't be able to attend the memorial unfortunately
> but I thought I would at least send my "Top Five Fave
> Memories of Cocker" list. I don't believe that the
> Bayou City people, YMCA folks, or her coworkers would
> appreciate this like the Hashers would since it is not
> all fluffy and so forth. It is just Sylvia, as we
> knew Sylvia, as I remember Sylvia, feisty, cocky,
> colorful, and a fun loving hashing party girl.
>
> My Top Five are:
>
> 5. Cocker's wedding was held at the same location
> that the H4 500th, up by Conroe somewhere. That was a
> cool place and it was a fun day. Very laid back.
> Everyone had fun, except for Lube Job, who broke his
> collar bone playing Frisbee. Twist and Shout (Doctor
> Domino) examined the fracture and told him to drink
> another beer and worry about it in the morning. John
> and Sylvia left the wedding in Elmer Fudd's classic
> 1954 Buick.
>
> 4. Valhalla on Halloween night. Cocker is dressed
> like a yachtsman, blue blazer, white captain's hat.
> This was after the On The Rag Drag. Finally Club 13
> arrives for their beer. Cocker is suddenly surrounded
> at the bar by 20-30 naked college kids covered in
> shaving cream screaming for free beer. She laughed
> uncontrollably, loving all the attention, as her blue
> blazer was decorated with Barbasol. Too freakin'
> funny.
>
> 3. Cocker signs up the Hash along with YMCA people
> for a bus ride to Austin for the Capital 10K. The
> YMCA people are non-drinkers for the most part and
> suffer through the Hash coming and going. The night
> before the run Hairy Palms sleeps in a bathtub.
> Cocker has reserved a fantastic 3rd story suite with a
> balcony overlooking 6th Street in Austin where many of
> us partied after the run.
>
> 2. Norma Jean brings some new boyfriend (one of
> hundreds) to the hash happy hour at a Rasta dance
> night club. The boyfriend is not a hasher but he is a
> smoker and Cocker politely asks/tells him to quit
> blowing cigarette smoke her way. His drunken response
> was to blow a puff of smoke at her and smile. Cocker's
> response? She tosses her cocktail right in his face,
> followed by her invitation to settle things outside.
> Outstanding!
>
> And now for the number one memory.
>
> 1. My very first hash ended over where Grind Slut now
> lives. It was Cocker's birthday and she was brought
> into the circle for a birthday down-down. I believe
> she was 37 or 38 then. Cocker chugged her beer like
> a trooper and then Scum Puppy yells from the circle
> "Hey Cocker, whadda' ya want for your birthday?" As
> Puppy yells this he is groping his crotch in an
> exaggerated way. Sylvia, with a disgusted look on her
> face yells back at him "Well I know one thing, I sure
> don't want that!"
>
>
> She will be missed.
>
> Andy Williams
-----Original
Message-----
From: John Holmes [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2003 2:42 PM
Subject: RE: Top Five Fave Memories of "Cocker"
One of my favorite memories of Cocker was at a happy hour where she was complaining
about an all male hash out of New Jersey. That night, somewhat in response to
the all male hash, she decided to form an all female hash which would run on
the 28th of every month and once a year would hold a hash where men would be
invited to participate but only in drag. It took her all of two minutes to come
up with this idea. The OTR (on the rag) ran that month. Fourteen years later,
the OTR is still running on or about the 28th of the month and every October
28th, the On the Rag Drag Hash happens with enthusiastic support from all participants.
Coincidentally, on the morning Sylvia passed away, the OTR ran its 1st ever
(I think) morning run. Most of the group was unaware who their founder was or
that she had died just prior to the run but the event continues to occur on
a monthly basis just as Sylvia had planned it.
-----Original
Message-----
From: The Hessons [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Wednesday, July 09, 2003 10:02 PM
Subject: Re: Top Five Fave Memories of "Cocker"
Unfortunately I can't make it back to Houston this weekend for the mass and
memorial luncheon either, but I too would like to pass on a couple of fond
mamories.
I agree
with Mike that Cocker and Pussy Tosser's wedding was one of the
best. My favorite part was Pussy Tosser's prompting of the audience so that
when the minister asked "Who is it that offers this woman's hand in
marriage?", all of the men [and a few of the women] surrounding the gazebo
answered in unison - "We Do!" The only down side of the day was that
Karen
and I had a terrible fight and left before the frisbee tossing. Actually
that may have been a blessing.
Two years
later, Karen and I eloped on a Tuesday night and got married.
Either Wednesday or Thursday night, Karen was formally introduced to Sylvia
at a Desk and Derrick meeting as Karen Hesson. At that point I don't think
either placed each other at John and Sylvia's wedding. Any way, Sylvia
responded "Oh, are you Paul's sister?" and Karen replied "No,
I'm his wife."
Once she picked her jaw up off the floor, Sylvia quizzed Karen about what
the deal was. As the story came out, Sylvia realized that she was one of
the first half dozen people to find out what we had done, even before one
set of our parents, and that she was the first hasher to know. She was so
excited, I think she probably wet her pants...
We both loved her and will miss her.
Paul Hesson
Generic RockStar
It is with great sadness that I belatedly received the news on Cocker.
She, Pussy Tosser, the Great Kahuna, Mighty Mouse, Hooter Bill and so many others from the Houston H3 played a huge role in the development and moral degeneration of the Dallas H3.
I remember going to the first Texas InterHash. Ours was a fledgling group, just starting to "catch on" in the Dallas running community. Our GM at the time was a great guy named George "Jogger" Kerns, who had hashed around the world during his travels with Mobil. Jogger was a helluva guy and could drink like a fish, but he couldn¹t sing for shyte. As a result, we weren¹t up on any of the songs, including the traditional "Down Down" song. It wasn¹t until we met up with the Houston Hash that we learned of that tune, and a great many more. I recall Cocker and Pussy Tosser giving a rousing rendition of Barnacle Bill the Sailor.
During that weekend, Cocker was so generous to each of us, and her spirit was so contagious that our merry band returned to the Jethroplex with a renewed desire to learn and do more disgusting events than we¹d ever dreamed. My bride, McNuggets, and I always looked forward to our combined events with the Houston gang. Whether in Austin, outside Conroe, at the Davy Crockett National Forest, in Ennis or in Dallas for the legendary "Monster Hash" ‹ including the "Please Don¹t Take My Daddy To Jail" finale, where a very pissed-off Dallas cop wanted to desperately haul my large butt off to jail ‹ or in Philly or San Diego for the InterAmericas events, it was always fun to hook up with the SCBs of the Bayou.
Recently, D-FW Hasher Kooshy Loo¹s daughter and son-in-law were killed in a traffic accident. The funeral brought together Hashers old and new. As we circled up and talked, we reminisced about many things, including those first Texas InterHashes, and I recalled the fun of Izzy Dizzy, communal showers, and Deep Throat¹s "Magnum Throat" demonstration. Indeed, on the day that I write this, I received a call from the running writer at The Dallas Morning News to discuss the old days of Dallas running. The subject of the Dallas H3, which will hold its 25th anniversary run in October, came up. Less than an hour later, I received the email from Call Girl concerning Cocker.
My heart goes out to John and to Hashers everywhere who knew and cared for Sylvia.
"If you get there before I do/coming for to carry me home/tell all my friends, I¹m coming, too/coming for to carry me home."
On! On!
Bob "The Monk"
Vernon
Former GM
Dallas Hash House Harriers
[email protected]