He will be missed
Doris McKernan
Friday, January 18, 2008
WOMEN’S ATHLETICS lost one of its most ardent longtime supporters with the passing of Donald Cravens.
Growing up in Topeka, as did Don, we girls played summer softball at Lake Shawnee and Don was a fixture as a scorekeeper for our team and a fan of all the teams. In the 1950s there were no KSHSAA-sponsored sports for girls and no college teams for women, so we all had our outlets in the business-sponsored summer leagues.
After graduating from school, I married and moved to Emporia and was reacquainted with Don who was a member of the staff at Emporia State University.
When women’s athletics became a part of the Emporia State University programs, Don was there for virtually every game or match. Lady Hornet volleyball and softball did not happen if Don was not there — basketball, too. He served as official and unofficial scorer and founding booster and fan of ESU women’s sports and sports in general. This when attendance at the games consisted mainly of the parents of the players. But this did not faze Don who was as interested and ardent a fan as he was in later years when White Auditorium was rocking!
No, it will not be the same attending Lady Hornet games without Don seated in the stands at White Auditorium and Trusler Complex. Thanks from all of us “gals” for your support and memories, Don.
You will be missed.
Doris McKernan
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