Remembrances

Virginia “Ginny” Scott Park ’93, ’98 MBA of Mechanicsville, Va., passed away peacefully on October 24, 2023, at age 52, after a year-long battle with breast cancer that also spread to her brain. Although she left the earth too soon, it was all in God’s perfect timing.

The former Virginia Lorraine Scott was born on February 9, 1971, in Kansas City, Kan., to parents Louis and Shirley Scott. She worked hard to graduate as co-valedictorian from DeSoto High School in 1989, where she was also an all-state flute player and captain of the cheerleading team. She went on to study economics at Northwestern, where she was also a member of the marching band and the Kappa Delta sorority. It was in college where she had a life changing encounter with her Lord and Savior and became part of the University Christian Ministry. She also did a study abroad program at the University of Sussex in England. She subsequently earned an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management in 1998.

Ginny spent most of her professional career at Jones Lang LaSalle, a multi-national real estate consulting firm, where she helped the U.S. military and other public institutions with critical housing needs and enabled public-private partnerships. She rose to the rank of managing director before eventually resigning to be a stay-at-home mom. She missed working with her outstanding and supportive colleagues, who she always considered as part of the family.

Ginny met her husband, Matt Park, at Cherrydale Baptist Church in Arlington, Va. They were married in the same church in March 2007 and went on to have a precious daughter named Vivian. Ginny followed her husband to multiple overseas assignments that included Malaysia, Singapore and Ecuador. She felt blessed to have lived overseas, which was a transformative experience for her.

Ginny loved serving and building relationships in her local churches and getting involved in her daughter’s schools. She was the treasurer on the board of directors of a Christian classical school and served on various local church committees, particularly those that leveraged her finance background. Besides her wanderlust for travel, she loved to read all types of books, was passionate about music education, enjoyed spoiling her family with delicious recipes and made spending quality time with people a priority in her life.

Ginny is survived by her husband, daughter, three siblings, and her father and mother, as well as numerous other extended family members. 

Christine Victoria Shim Harden ’97
Oct. 17, 1975 – Jan. 24, 2021

With heavy hearts, the Shim and Harden families regret to announce the passing of our beloved Christine Victoria Shim Harden. Her generosity and kindness will be deeply missed.

Christine was a dear wife, daughter, sister, mentor and friend. She was eternally thoughtful, never failing to send a birthday or anniversary card to those she loved. She was loyal and supportive and loved bringing people together.

Christine attended high school at Phillips Exeter Academy (class of 1993), where she had continued to be an active alumna, serving as a class correspondent. She graduated cum laude from Northwestern University  (class of 1997), where she was a member of the sorority Alphi Phi. She went to the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (class of 2004), where she most recently served as a class agent.

Christine enjoyed running, and completed numerous marathons in Chicago, Boston, New York City, London and Bermuda. She also competed in triathlons and loved downhill skiing. She was an accomplished pianist, having trained at the Juilliard pre-college program in NYC.

Christine will be forever remembered and loved by her husband, Greg Harden, her parents, Cynthia and John Shim, and her sisters, Margaret Shim Perra and Jean Shim Yun. She leaves behind five nephews and one niece. She also leaves behind countless friends and will truly be missed by all who had the fortune to have her in their lives.

A GREAT BROADCASTER, A TRUE FRIEND AND A FOUR-TIME “WORLD SERIES” CHAMP

Jamie Samuelsen ’93 was a popular sports radio show host in Detroit who died Aug. 1 of colon cancer at age 48. Raised in California, Jamie adopted the Motor City as his hometown. And from the moment he publicly announced his diagnosis on his morning-drive talk show to the day he passed, the outpouring of love and admiration for Jamie in the Detroit market was remarkable. The president of the Detroit Lions called his morning talk show. The Detroit Tigers had a moment of silence for him before a game. Everyone remarked on how tragic it was to lose such a genuine, kind and funny person — especially at such a young age, and with a beloved wife and three beautiful kids.

Jamie made it his mission to encourage everyone age 45 or older to get a colonoscopy. He wanted something good to come out of his misfortune.

During his time at Northwestern, Jamie was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. The loss is hitting his fellow Fiji’s hard, but they are glad for all the times they were able to see Jamie after leaving Northwestern. Jamie was good about that — he kept up with his college friends and visited campus almost every year. He loved to end conversations with Coach Fitzgerald’s catch phrase: “Go ’Cats!”

With another group of college friends, Jamie got together for a weekend to watch ‘Cats football and play a card tournament every year. It was an excuse to get together, laugh and remember those great college years — something that Jamie’s passing should remind all of us to make a point of doing. The card game — little known outside Wisconsin and parts of Germany — is called Sheepshead. And with tongue in cheek these six NU grads called their closed-door tournament the World Series of Sheepshead. Jamie was a four-time champ. Despite the wins he racked up, Jamie’s friends liked to rib him, saying that he wasn’t much of a card player, he was just lucky. 

It’s true. Jamie Samuelson was lucky in all things except one. His friends — in California and Detroit, as well as the Northwestern community — were luckier still.

Photo: From left, Max Heerman ’93, ’96 JD; Ameet Sachdev ’93; Joe Curry ’93; Scott Dummler ’93; Craig Wagner ’93; and Jamie Samuelsen ’93

David Alan Pituch '98 DMA, 72, of Evanston passed away June 23, 2020, of health complications after a long battle with the bone marrow disorder MDS and leukemia. A celebrated saxophonist, author and devoted educator, he studied music at the Baldwin and Wallace College Conservatory, the University of Colorado Boulder and Northwestern University.

After serving in the North American Aerospace Defense Command U.S. Army band, he earned his master’s degree at CU Boulder and went on to win a Fulbright grant to research Polish music at the Chopin Academy in Warsaw, Poland. There, he established the academy’s first program in classical saxophone studies and wrote a comprehensive book on the history of the saxophone, while playing concerts across Europe and in the United States.

He played as a soloist with the Boston Pops, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Danish Radio Orchestra and the Warsaw Philharmonic, among others. He also recorded two solo albums on the PWM and ProViva labels and was a contributor to many other recordings. His playing inspired avant-garde composers to write and dedicate numerous pieces to him. After moving back to the United States and earning his doctorate from Northwestern University, he taught at Northwestern, DePaul University and Columbia College of Missouri, both online and in-person.

A loving husband, Pituch met his wife Elzbieta in Warsaw. They married in 1981 and had two sons, Mark and Justin. David was a particularly dedicated father, avid cook and opera aficionado. He loved spending time outdoors kayaking, hiking, cycling or simply going for a nice drive. Pituch is preceded in death by his brothers Chuck and Danny, as well as his sister Annette. He is survived by his wife; sons; brother Tom; sisters Caroline and Marcia; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Jessica Erin Martin of Denver, Colorado passed away on June 19, 2019 at University of Colorado Hospital.

Martin was married to Nicholas C. Houck, and the couple have two children, Margaret and Michael.

She was born in Joliet, Ill., attended Minooka High School and earned her undergraduate degree from Northwestern University in Evanston. She moved to the Denver area to pursue her master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

lMartin taught at Boulder for several years and was beloved by students and colleagues alike. She was known for her highly intelligent presentations and quick wit.

Martin was diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) in April 2013. An educator to the end, Martin advocated for CRC in Washington D.C. and through her blogspot “Drjlifethisway.”  Her highly personal, and at times humorous, examination of dealing with all the indignities and trials of cancer has enhanced the lives of cancer patients and their families.

Martin is the daughter of P.J. Danneker of Navarre, Fla., and Gerald P. Martin of Edmund Okla. 

She is survived by her spouse, children, parents and brother Josh Martin (Karen) along with numerous aunts, uncles and cousins living across the country.

Christopher R. Lockard '99 — We found out my husband was going to die on June 8, 2018, the same day the Warriors beat the Cavs to close out their second straight NBA title. He passed away on Wednesday, Aug. 15, before the start of another NBA season. I always think of time in terms of sports seasons. That is how my mind works.

Earlier that same week was the MLB Draft. I had spent the previous six months covering the lead-up to the draft and had blocked off most of that week to cover this year's proceedings. My husband was admitted to the hospital by then, and I missed most of it. "I'm so sorry you had to miss the draft," he said. That is how his mind worked.

Our love was about so much more than sports, but sports always played a central role. We met in October 1997. Both of us were working for the Daily Northwestern, me as a design editor and Chris as a news editor. We had both recently gone through break-ups and mutual friends from the paper set us up. No rebound has ever been sweeter.

One of our first dates was a Northwestern football game. Chris was from Green Bay, Wisconsin, and he told me later that it endeared him to me that I — a California girl — made it through the entire game despite the driving snow and not being able to feel my feet. To be honest, being at the game with him, I would have stood in the snow forever.

Over the years, our interests mostly aligned, with the exception of our favorite NFL team. Chris was, of course, a Cheesehead through and through, while I grew up going to games in the top row of Candlestick Park, yelling, "Jerry's open!" When we started dating, the 49ers and Packers had a brief rivalry. Ultimately, it was that rivalry that made me know I wanted to marry him.

In January 1999, the Niners and Packers met in the NFC wild-card game at the 'Stick. I was supposed to fly back to Evanston for school the day before the game, but there was a huge snowstorm in the Midwest and it pushed my flight back to the day of the game. As it would turn out, my flight was one of the last to land at O'Hare for a week (a flight a few hours later ended up stuck on the tarmac for hours, leading to the airline passenger bill of rights).

This was back in the day before most people had cell phones and Uber was just a word you said before "awesome, dude." Getting from O'Hare to Evanston in the winter could be a bit of a challenge. The El involved going all the way downtown before coming back out to the suburbs; cab drivers were often reluctant to get you there, preferring to go into the city, and the weather could make it a tough ride. Chris had come down from Green Bay a few days earlier but had caught a bad cold and was laid up for most of that weekend. When I talked to him before the flight, I told him it was OK if I took a cab back rather than him picking me up at the airport. Instead, he made me a deal: "If the Packers win, I'll pick you up. If the Niners win, you're on your own."

The flight, for whatever reason, was filled with Wisconsin football fans returning from the Rose Bowl through SFO. The pilot knew his audience and piped the radio broadcast of the game through one of the channels at each seat. As the game wound down to the final seconds, I was torn between wanting the Niners to win and wanting a ride back to campus. Steve Young dropped back to pass, he stumbled and the signal for the station turned to static. It took me several minutes before I overheard a devastated Badger fan explain what happened after Young's stumble.

When I got off the plane, I immediately began thinking of how I was going to hail a cab in the snow. I reached the end of the walkway tunnel and there was Chris with a funny grin on his face. "I thought the Niners won," I said. "They cheated," he replied, "but either way, I didn't want to eat dinner without you." How can you not want to marry a man like that?

Chris was a year ahead of me in school and he moved to Washington, D.C., after he graduated. I followed him in June 2000. Baseball had always been my first love in terms of sports, but for most of the time I was in college, it took a back burner to other activities. Then the A's went on their magical AL West title run that year, and it drew me back to the sport. Back then, the only time we'd get to see the A's play was when they were on ESPN, which was a rare occurrence. Chris had grown up rooting for Bay Area baseball teams despite living in Wisconsin, a product of his grandmother residing in the Sacramento area. He claimed it was easy to start rooting for the A's again, but I suspect his interest in the team was another airport-pickup-in-the-snow kind of thing.

We got married on May 26, 2002, just days after Jeremy Giambi was unceremoniously shipped to the Phillies. We were in the Bay Area then, getting ready for the wedding and our puzzlement over that trade helped us get through the pre-wedding jitters. Later that summer, we were back in D.C. during the Streak, staying up late every night to find out if the A's won yet another game.

In 2003, we moved back to the Bay Area so that Chris could attend law school at UC Hastings. Law school is an all-consuming kind of thing and it was soon pretty clear that I'd need to add a hobby to fill my time when he was studying in the evening and on weekends. There was a new blog network called MVN that put a call out for writers. We had just returned from spring training in 2004 and Chris encouraged me to try out for the spot. I didn't think I had much of shot, but I was one of two writers they picked to write about the A's.

Suddenly, all of the rambling thoughts I shared with Chris over the years about the A's had another audience. A few months later, I was approached by what was then called The Insiders and later became known as Scout to take over their fledgling A's site. This wasn't a blog but a subscription-based news site where I would have to cover games in person and focus on player development rather than the big league team. I wasn't sure I could do it. Chris encouraged me. "I'll help you," he said. "I'll take photos."

And so began OaklandClubhouse — a name he created — which, until our first son was born in 2010, was our baby. During the regular season, we would spend two weekends a month driving to Stockton or Sacramento to cover Ports and River Cats games. We also would go down to Phoenix every year for a few days of spring training. We were always a team — me with my recorder and him with his camera. I would write thousands of articles at Scout, but I was always the most proud of the photo galleries I put together of his shoots at those games.

Over the years, it became harder for us to cover games together as the demands of his job increased and we had to balance the schedules for our kids with their soccer games and Boy Scout meetings. The last game we covered together was in Sacramento last season when the Sounds came to visit the River Cats. We hadn't been to Sacramento often since the A's had lost their affiliation there, so it was a nice opportunity for us to catch up with guys like Johnny Doskow and Gabe Ross whom we had worked with so closely in the early days of the site.

It was around that time that I had left Scout and took OaklandClubhouse out on its own. It was never going to be a moneymaker without a network affiliation behind it, but Chris encouraged me to keep it going regardless, knowing how much of myself I had put into the site over the years. He also encouraged me to reach out to the folks at The Athletic when it was announced they were launching a Bay Area vertical. He was so proud of his wife, the sportswriter.

Chris wasn't diagnosed with angiosarcoma — an extremely rare and aggressive cancer that attacks the lining of the blood vessels — until June, but he began experiencing debilitating pain in his back and later his hip in December. We thought he had a torn labrum in his hip, but cortisone shots and rehab weren't working. As it turned out, the pain was from a tumor. Despite his pain, he still coached our youngest son's T-ball team this spring. Since our boys were old enough to play sports, he was always "Coach Chris," coaching their baseball and soccer teams. Kids loved him and he loved organizing practices and encouraging them during games. He had a lot of clipboards.

While he was sick this summer, we spent a lot of time watching A's games both in the hospital and during the brief few weeks he was able to be home. He took a lot of inspiration from their comeback style of play this summer, but I think mostly it was a way for us to share something that took our minds off of his diagnosis, much the same way the Giambi trade took the edge off of pre-wedding jitters.

Chris was the most logical person I ever met. If there was a way to get from Point A to Point B, he'd find the most efficient route. I may get from Point A to Point B, but there will be a lot of stops and turns along the way. One of the things he found most amusing about me was how superstitious I am. He loved telling people about how his crazy wife used to wait in the morning in D.C. to watch the scores on ESPN's Bottomline to see if the A's won the night before, and how mad I got if he told me first who won because it was unlucky.

On Wednesday night, while I lay trying to think of anything but the worst loss of my life, I went to my MLB At Bat app to check the day's scores. It wouldn't load. Somehow, I like to think that's his way of saying, "I'm still here."

Christopher Robert Lockard died on Aug. 15, 2018. He was 41 years old. He is survived by his wife, two wonderful boys, his parents, his brother, and a whole world of people who will miss him forever.

Melissa Levie Lockard '00 is a Staff Writer/Editor at The Athletic Bay Area. She focuses her coverage on professional baseball.

Reprinted with permission of The Athletic

Mark Whitney Allen ’90 MA, ’92 PhD, born June 19, 1963, in New London, Conn., grew up in Connecticut and called Chicago home, demonstrating an early interest in psychology and also theater. He earned a B.A. at Amherst College in sociology and psychology and an M.A. and Ph.D. in speech language pathology at Northwestern University. 

He was on the special education faculty at Niles North High School for 25 years, helping students to overcome disabilities through therapy, theater and literature. He was also on the faculty at Northwestern University’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders.

Mark had a successful private practice working with children, adolescents and adults who stutter, founding and writing for Speak Freely Publications.

Always curious, outgoing, and giving, Mark was surrounded by his children and loved ones in his final days after a long struggle with Parkinson’s. He is survived by his three children, Joseph, Rose and Camille; his parents; and four siblings.

Mark died March 27, 2018, in Zurich at age 54.