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Ron Grinker, sports attorney
Cincinnati sports attorney Ronald Lee Grinker, one of the best loved figures in the professional sports field, died Monday at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. He was 57.
"Dad always tried to help everyone he dealt with realize who they were and what they could become," said his daughter, Melissa Grinker.
"It's a terrible loss to the entire Cincinnati community," said Pete Gillen, baseball coach at Providence College and former coach at Xavier University.
"He was my attorney . . . but he was much more than that. He was my friend," Gillen said. "Ron had a lot of friends in a tough, tough business. He was a class person and maintained his dignity in a profession which sometimes lacks dignity and class."
"He was one of the most highly respected sports agents in the U.S., primarily in the world of pro baseball," said longtime friend Jerry Robinson, owner of Cincinnati Gardens.
"Perhaps his most famous client, Danny Manning (a Kansas All American who is now in the NBA), called him "Uncle Ron.' "
Mr. Grinker, a graduate of the University of Cincinnati and its law school, did not like to be called an agent. He insisted he was an attorney "who happens to represent athletes, as well as being an attorney with a general practice."
"He was a wonderful representative for his clients because he was really there for them," said attorney Stan Chesley, a friend going back to Mr. Grinker's UC days.
"He was an example of somebody who loved sports, but who was not a star ball player or anything. So he got involved in sports law and did a wonderful job," Chesley said.
Mr. Grinker's first client was Barry Kramer, a New York University first-round draft choice of the 1964 San Francisco Warriors. Kramer went on to become a judge in New York.
More than anything, Mr. Grinker wanted clients he could consider family. He insisted his clients be willing to take drug tests upon his request.
"He would always tell the story that he would not have a client he could not bring home to have dinner with his wife and his three girls," said Richard Katz, a local attorney who represents professional athletes.
Mr. Grinker was the first Bearcat mascot for UC. He dressed up in a furry suit and accompanied the Bearcats on the road to several of their NCAA Tournament games during Oscar Robertson's era (1956-60).
He also was a longtime contributor to Bearcat athletics and a founding member of UCATS, (University of Cincinnati Athletic Team scholarships), the official fund-raising arm of the school's athletic department.
Pro sports colleagues through the years noted that Grinker often represented the underdog, the player not automatically sought out for the professional ranks. He treated star or struggler both the same, they said.
"When he was your agent he took good care of you," Robinson said. "His players loved him personally. He had an amazing ability to find the right team and coach for the particular talents of his players. Every once in a while I'd ask him if he'd represent somebody . . . and he would say "I never solicited anybody.' They came to him. He was considered the most ethical practitioner of athletic representation there was."
Among his many clients were Tyrone Hill of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell of the Boston Celtics, UC baseball coach Bob Huggins and former coach Ed Badger.
"I think he had a great com passion for people," said Huggins. "He spent his last days making sure (his clients) were OK and had their affairs in order. He had such great integrity."
"The Cincinnati sports scene really lost a real advocate," said Skip Prosser, Xavier University men's baseball coach and a friend and client of Mr. Grinker's. "He was direct, sometimes brutally honest, but I think he was intensely loyal, especially to his family. . . . He always wanted what was best for you and your family and that was because he was such a good family man himself. He was a good attorney but an even better person."
Said Mike Mathis, an NBA referee and client of Grinker's: "I've known Ron probably 25 years. He was a fresh spirit when it came to the agent and what people think of agents.
"Everybody he represented he cared about and he cared about them personally. A lot of the kids he represented were periphery players, not superstars. He cared as much about the ones trying to make a team, to a fault, than any agent I've ever seen. On Wednesday (at the funeral), you'll see quite a few of those. And I think you'll see a great outpouring of (NBA) general managers and coaches. They respected the fact Ron truly did care about his kids. He had time for people even during his sickness and I was one that was included in that."
He is survived by his wife of 34 years, Marcia (Stein) Grinker; three daughters, Julie (Hiram) Gutterman, Tarym Grinker of Cincinnati and Melissa Grinker of Phoenix; a sister, Barbara Blaufeux of Long Island, N.Y.; and his mother-in-law and father-in law, Bernice and David Stein.
Services: 1 p.m. Wednesday at Weil Funeral Home, 3901 Reading Road, North Avondale. The family is sitting shivah Wednesday, Thursday, Sunday and Monday at the family home in Sharonville. Memorials to the American Cancer Society.
Date of announcement: 09-09-1997
W. Campbell, pianist, gospel singer
Pianist and gospel singer Willa Campbell, 80, of Avondale, died Tuesday.
Nicknamed "Sweetie Pie," Mrs. Campbell was the music director and pianist for Rockdale Baptist Church in Avondale, said longtime friend Robert Walker of Fairmount.
"She was very good about encouraging people and going to the hospital to visit the sick, even when she was in a wheelchair," he said. "If she knew somebody was sick or knew somebody that needed encouragement (she'd be there). I'm guilty of calling on her a lot of times myself."
A native of Tyronza, Ark., Mrs. Campbell came to Cincinnati in 1923. She sang and played piano at Peace Baptist Church for 30 years before joining Rockdale Baptist Church in 1958.
She was president of the Rockdale Baptist Church Missionary Society, and was a member of the Hamilton County Missionary Union. Mrs. Campbell conducted a prison ministry, sometimes singing in prisons, Walker recalled.
Throughout her adult life, she sang in various gospel groups, including the "Campbletts" throughout the tri-state, said Walker.
Mrs. Campbell is survived by several nieces and nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.
Services: at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Rockdale Baptist Church, 539 Forest Ave., Avondale. Visitation: noon to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the church. Renfro Funeral Service Inc. is in charge.
Memorials may be made to the Rockdale Baptist church music department.
Date of announcement: 09-09-1997
Judith Hanon, teacher and counselor
Judith Ann Hanon was a caring, giving person who touched many lives, her family and friends recall.
Mrs. Hanon, 58, of Mt. Airy, a teacher and guidance counselor for Cincinnati Public Schools before poor health forced her to retire last year, died Saturday of cancer.
She was a positive role model for the children whose lives she touched as an elementary school teacher and counselor, her family and friends said. She taught at Peoples Middle School, Rothenberg Elementary School and Roberts Paideia Academy. Most recently she was a guidance counselor.
She was a native of Cincinnati and lived in Delhi Township for years. She received a master's degree in education from the University of Cincinnati.
Mrs. Hanon was a member of the College Hill Presbyterian Church, where she served as an elder and was on the nominating committee. She also was active on numerous church committees, in Bible study programs, in the Girl Scouts and the PTA. She was a member of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority.
She leaves two daughters, Dori Hanon and Mindy Hanon, both of Cincinnati, and a sister, Mrs. Thomas (Patricia) Emerson of Frankfort, Ky.
Services: 9:30 a.m. Thursday, College Hill Presbyterian Church, 5742 Hamilton Ave.
Visitation: 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Miller-Busse & Borgmann Funeral Home, 3464 Central Parkway, Clifton.
Memorials: The Judith A. Hanon Youth Scholarship Fund, care of the College Hill Presbyterian Church.
Date of announcement: 09-09-1997
MARCUS BLACKSHEAR SR., 79, of Roselawn, died Thursday. He was a truck driver for the City of Cincinnati Department of Sanitation. Services: 7 tonight at Lincoln Heights Baptist Church, 9991 N. Wayne Ave., Lincoln Heights. Visitation: 6 tonight at the church. Arrangements: Hall-Jordan Funeral Home, Walnut Hills.
Date of announcement: 09-09-1997
FOSTER LEROY McADAMS, 72, of Lawrenceburg, Ind., died Sunday. He was a retired vice president at Trade & Industrial Supply Co. Mass: 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Lawrence Catholic Church, Lawrenceburg. Visitation: 6-9 tonight at the Fitch-Denney Funeral Home, 455 Ridge Ave., Lawrenceburg. Memorials: Hospice of Southeastern Indiana.
Date of announcement: 09-09-1997
CLIFTON C. MCCANN, 67, of Sardinia, died Sunday. Services: 2 p.m. Wednesday at Beam-Fender Funeral Home, 123 Winchester St., Sardinia. Visitation: 5-8 tonight at the funeral home.
Date of announcement: 09-09-1997
Mike Gier, 40, helped disabled
Mike Gier's lifelong goal was to help people with special needs because others helped him with his disability.
The 40-year-old Covington man worked at New Perceptions Inc., a program for the multiple-handicapped in Edgewood.
Gier, who was autistic, had suffered from a lung disease. He died Monday at St. Elizabeth Medical Center in Edgewood.
Gier's parents, Dorothy and Charles, founded Riverside Good Council, a school for multiple- handicapped children. The school later merged with New Perceptions.
They founded the school to help their son but also because few agencies in the early 1960s offered programs to help children with autism - a severe disorder marked by withdrawal and language impairment.
Gier later went on to work at the program and became strongly independent, said his older brother, Thomas Gier of Ft. Wright.
Other survivors include a sister, Mary Ann Spare of Ft. Wright.
Mass: 10 a.m. Monday at St. Agnes Church, Ft. Wright. Visitation: 2-5 p.m. Sunday at Middendorf-Bullock Funeral Home, Covington. Memorials: New Perceptions Adult Workshop, 1 Sperti Drive, Edgewood 41017.
Date of announcement: 09-10-1997
IDA ELIZABETH HILL, 66, of Avondale, died Saturday. She was a housekeeper. Services: 7 p.m. Thursday at Jerriel Baptist Church, 1018 Wesley Ave., West End. Visitation: 6 p.m. Thursday at the church. Arrangements: Hall-Jordan Funeral Home, Walnut Hills.
Date of announcement: 09-10-1997
