Lost another one
 

Herman "Stretch" Johnson, a longtime softball umpire from Arizona, lost his battle with cancer over the weekend.

Stretch was a mentor to some, and a friend to all.

We have suffered a loss here in Arizona.

My condolences to you Andy and those fellow Cactus Umpires suffering this loss today.

He was a good man..and one of the few I could see "eye" to "eye" with on the field.

You and me both, brother!

Just today thought about looking over here to see if anyone mentioned this. Stretch and Chantal were my parents best friends back in the 60's and 70's and Stretch was probably my Dad's and oldest and dearest friend. Their son Marc attended elementary school with me up in Grand Forks and he was at my first wedding.

If anyone attended Stretch's funeral then you probably met my dad.

I did attend the service, but really didn't meet too many people. We mostly spent the time with all of our other umpire brethren (and there were a lot).

Stretch was a great guy...Glad to here that he had a good influence on your life.