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Sunday, April 19, 2009

Kalas buried after on-field ceremony

Since Harry Kalas' death last Monday, news reports had said that his private burial would be "early next week."

But the family, which had generously participated in the public tributes to the hall of famer, decided to hold the funeral immediately after the public memorial at Citizens Bank Park. Saturday afternoon, after the singing of "High Hopes," the Phillies players placed Kalas' white casket into a hearse. The driver proceeded to Laurel Hill Cemetery, where family members and his closest friends held a graveside service. Many returned to the ballpark for the night game against the Padres.

Like his buddy Richie Ashburn, a transplanted Midwesterner who found love and respect here, Kalas will always be a part of Philly. Ashburn rests in Gladwyne, while Kalas is in Fairmount Park.

 

Updated (6:20 p.m.): Link to photo on Flickr.
Posted by Michael Klein @ 9:05 AM  Permalink | 12 comments
12
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:32 AM, 04/19/2009
    RIP Harry the K
    — SSAMOM1
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:22 AM, 04/19/2009
    The Phillies and the Kalas family showed real class. Harry would be pleased. The fans and the region along with the Phillies organization were a real stand out. God Bless them all!
    — vc bear
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:30 AM, 04/19/2009
    You do indeed reap what you sow. A first class organization giving back to a first class human being.
    — MidlanticDave
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:34 AM, 04/19/2009
    you couldn't have a better service than what the organization did on Saturday - that was simply incredible.
    — dpcoz
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:02 PM, 04/19/2009
    Thanks to the Kalas family for including us and the Phillies for doing such an incredible job. That was an unbelievable memorable tribute.
    — Annierie
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:07 PM, 04/19/2009
    The Phillies & Harry Kalas! The true "Gold Standard"!
    — Nihilist
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:35 PM, 04/19/2009
    If the family wanted a private burial..then they didn't want you to know.. you should not even printed this info..Shame on you..Stick to the stuff you know how to do best...NOT THIS.
    — STEVE5444
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:16 PM, 04/19/2009
    Great job by the Phillies. I was there yesterday morning with other fans and it felt good to be able to fulfill the obligation if paying our respects. Had the team across the street handled this, you know they would have found some way to piss everyone off. They would have charged for parking at the very least.
    — Burnsy
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:29 PM, 04/19/2009
    Steve, there's a difference between a private burial and a secret gravesite. Tha Kalas family consented to a public funeral with thousands of strangers present. They deserved a few moments of privacy to lower Harry into the ground. Now that it's been accomplished, there's no need to keep it secret.
    — phillygwm
  • Comment removed.
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 10:23 PM, 04/20/2009
    it's cool that Michael got news of his immediate burial. The Kalas family found the event at the ballpark so special they considered it his funeral service. Thats really special.
    — dpcoz


12 comments
About Michael Klein
Michael Klein, the editor/producer of philly.com/Food, writes about the local restaurant scene in his Inquirer column "Table Talk." Have a question? Email it! See his Inquirer work here.
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