OBITUARIES - April 22, 2020

April 1, 2020

Ted “Teddy” Battistone

Ted Battistone, 87, of Jupiter, Fla. died on April 19 following a battle with cancer.

Battistone, manager of senior softball powerhouse Florida Investment Properties, was inducted into the National Senior Softball Hall of Fame (NSSHOF) in 2005 in the Pioneer Player category.

Battistone and his Florida Investment Properties team have captured three straight titles at the LVSSA/SSUSA World Masters Championships (2017-2019). The 2017 season was the team’s fourth overall Triple Grand Slam title, as the team also accomplished the feat in 2015, 2014, and 2005.

“Ted was our GM for the past 22 years,” said Rocco Cambareri, field manager of Florida Investment Properties. “Ted was truly a leader. His clutch hitting and great glove at second base was outstanding. Later he became a pitcher. He’ll be missed by all. Good bye and god bless.”

Battistone and his FIP team were featured in an article in The Palm Beach Post in 2013.
https://www.palmbeachpost.com/article/20131121/NEWS/812028653

"Ted was a great friend, a great ball player, a great leader, and most importantly, a really great person," said Hugh Brotherton, manager of Center for Sight 85. Battistone played on Center for Sight 80 from 2010-2012. "I shall miss him."

"I am truly saddened by the passing of Ted Battistone," said Fran Dowell, SSUSA Executive Director. "Ted has been a beacon of experience and kindness for many years. Personally I have lost a good friend who always inspired me to be better. Ted always led with great spirit and inspiration. I am so blessed that he touched my life in so many positive ways."

Battistone was also a long-time member of the Jupiter Senior Softball Association (JSSA), and the inaugural member of the JSSA Hall of Fame for 2020.

“We are all saddened by Ted's death,” said Tom Cosentino, JSSA Commissioner. “He achieved so many great accomplishments on the softball field over his 87 years, but he will be remembered for how he treated people off the field. He was everyone's friend and mentor. Just a wonderful guy.  Anyone who knew Ted would agree that he was the perfect choice as the inaugural inductee to the JSSA Hall of Fame. We will surely miss him.”

Born in Chicago and raised in Michigan, Battistone attended Michigan State University and then joined the service, where he was stationed in El Paso, Tex. Battistone would later go on to work at the Ford Motor Co., retiring after nearly 40 years.

Donald Lee Hensley

Don Hensley, 76, of Los Angeles, Calif., died on April 12.

Hensley, along with his childhood friend Ross Bickerton, founded Bickerton Irons Works in 2000 in the Men’s 55 age division.

"I have truly been blessed to have Don Hensley as a friend for 63 years," said Bickerton. "His qualities of toughness, love and charity were something you don’t find these days. I will miss him beyond words."

Hensley and his Bickerton Iron Works team captured the elusive Triple Grand Slam during the 2004 season in the 60 age division.

Hensley played with Bickerton up through the 65 Major division, until suffering a stroke at the 2010 Spring World Championships.

Hensley would later go on to play with Git-R-Done 65 in 2011 and 2012, and Ash Rob 70 in 2015.

“Don was an excellent all-around athlete and played on five world championship teams,” said Frank Mazzeo, a teammate of Hensley on the Bickerton teams. “He was an effective pitcher and an accomplished hitter who nearly always was at the top of his team’s batting statistics.”

Hensley joined the Los Angeles Police Department in 1967, where he worked for 21 years until he retired. He was also a general contractor, working at an early age with his father and brother for Hensley and Hensley Construction.

William “Billy” John Budde

Billy Budde, 63, of Del City, Okla., died on April 6.

Budde made his SSUSA debut in 2018 with R&K Drywall. He played with the team again in 2019.

“Billy was one of the nicest and most easy going guys I ever met,” said Robert McCord, a teammate on R&K Drywall. “We traveled to and from, and roomed together at five softball tournaments one year and it was always cool with Billy around. He was mostly quiet, but was well liked everywhere he went. He will be missed.”

"He only played on our team, R&K Drywall, for the last two years, but Billy left an indelible mark on our lives because he was one of the finest, most caring, and generous souls one could know," said manager Mike Armstrong. "We will miss him."

Michael S. Hajec

Michael (Hadji) Hajec, 59, of Springfield, Mass. died on March 24 following a battle with Metastasis Metastatic Cholangiocarcinoma.

Hajec began playing SSUSA in 2017 with Chicago Sames/RDD, which later became Bond 124/RDD. Hajec played with the team again in 2018 and 2019.

Hajec and his team won the 2019 Atlantic Coast Championships to earn a berth to the TOC.

“Anyone who knew Hadji knew he always had a smile on his face and he would keep you laughing all day,” said Barry Lambert, Hajec’s teammate on Bond 124/RDD. “No matter how the game went, the fellowship in the parking lot was going to be fun. He will be greatly missed. Swing away my brother.”

A lifelong resident of Springfield, Hajec was a laser engraver for Mold Tech in Chicopee, where he had worked for the last 25 years.