Obituaries: February – March 2025

March 1, 2025

Warren C. York

Warren York, 76, of Rockford, IL., died on Feb. 26.

Warren, known as Colbert to his family, started playing with Senior Softball USA in 2013 and loyally played with the Chicago Hitmen 65s and 70s teams until 2021.

Sports were a big part of Warren’s life, even meeting his future wife at a championship basketball game in high school, according to his daughter, Tinaya.

“Warren was a very talented man… He was skilled in martial arts, could fix a car, build a shed, grow his food, play softball with the best of them,” said Tinaya.

“Warren played the outfield [and] we thought we had our own Willie Mays,” says Michael Sabatino, manager of the Chicago Hitmen and his co-manager, Jim Kupiec. “Outstanding defensive player, our top hitter. Showed the love of the game. All around teammate and gentleman; sportsmanship to everyone [he] came in contact with.”

“But now the Hitmen have their own Angel in the outfield helping us win again.”

Outside of his passion for sports, and first and foremost, family, he made a career working for the Chrysler Plant in Belvidere, Ill., for 40 years as a paint sprayer.

Larry Krull

Larry Spafford Krull, 84, of Lawrence, Kan., died on March 3.

Larry was instrumental in promoting senior softball in the Midwest and Kansas, playing with Senior Softball USA in the 1990s and was well-known for supporting his local senior league.

“He has been into Senior Softball since 1990 and helped propagating the sport in Kansas for seniors by owning softball teams that played locally under KC Metro Senior Softball League,” says John Mondi, administrator of the league’s social media.

 Larry’s company, Midwest Driving School, sponsored numerous SSUSA and KCMSSL teams, which were often named after the company. Larry began as a driving instructor for the school, before purchasing the company after 10 years.

But his history in sports and education doesn’t start there. In high school, he played basketball and football and after college, “was given [a] teaching position at Appleton City Highschool from 1969- 70 where he started fulfilling his lifetime dream of coaching high school football,” said John on behalf of KCMSSL. After moving to different towns in Kansas, he continued to teach high school and college, and coached basketball, baseball and football, even becoming a football assistant coach for Haskell University in Lawrence.

Larry will be remembered for his caring nature towards his players, Midwest Driving School teams and the Kansas City Metro Senior Softball League.

Tony Paschal

Anthony Paschal Sr., 69, of Alameda, Calif., died on March 6.

Anthony started playing with Senior Softball USA in 2014, originally with numerous Southern California teams before moving to the Bay Area in 2020, continuing to play with Nor-Cal teams.

Anthony’s teammates remember him as a great player and person.

“Anthony was the fastest runner I've ever seen at 65 years old,” said Jeffrey Kimoto, his last manager, SportStan/Islanders 65s out of Sacramento.

SportStan/Islanders teammate Doug Uchikura, said, "He was always a player you wanted at the top of the batting order. He could run so fast that he could hit it back to the pitcher and have a chance to beat it out. More importantly, he was a kind and generous human being who consistently displayed the very best in sportsmanship and humanity. It was an honor to have been his teammate!"

Outside of senior softball, family and faith were very important to Anthony. He moved to Northern California to become a pastor of a church and help communities and youth, both local and abroad, “including South Africa, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, Panama, and throughout North America,” according to his online obituary.

“Anthony lived an active life, participating in outdoor activities, including hiking, softball, and marathons.”

Anthony will be remembered in senior softball for playing with the following California teams: So-Cal Titans 55s, Git-R-Done 60s, Weakend Warriors 60s, and SportStan/Islanders 65s.