Over 400 turn out to attend Frontiere service

[RamWraith]

By Jim Thomas
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/23/2008

There were no invitations or funeral notices in the paper. It was to be a small, private affair for the family and close friends of Georgia Frontiere.

But the phone kept ringing and the family couldn't say no. Before all was said and done, more than 400 relatives and friends attended services Tuesday in Los Angeles for Frontiere, the Rams owner, who died Friday after a long battle with breast cancer.

"It was very nicely done, quite a beautiful service," team President John Shaw said Tuesday night.

Shaw was one of the eulogists, along with Frontiere's son, Dale "Chip" Rosenbloom, daughter Lucia Rodriguez, and Frontiere's companion of many years, Earle Weatherwax.




During his comments, Rosenbloom noted that his mother never believed in saying goodbye. She'd just say, "I love you," Rosenbloom said. So he asked those in attendance at the service to pretend the person next to them was Frontiere and to tell them "I love you."

Also speaking at the service was Eric Esraifian, the lead doctor at the UCLA Medical Center, where Frontiere was hospitalized for nearly five months fighting cancer and complications from the illness. During the service, Rosenbloom mentioned the names of every doctor and nurse who took care of his mother during her hospitalization.

Monsignor Sal Polizzi of St. Roch Catholic Church in St. Louis performed the service. About 15 to 20 former Rams players, including Marshall Faulk, Eric Dickerson, Jackie Slater and Merlin Olsen, attended. So did Julie Martz, wife of former Rams coach Mike Martz. The Rams also were represented by part-owner Stan Kroenke, president of football operations-general manager Jay Zygmunt, executive vice president-general counsel Bob Wallace and coach Scott Linehan.

The Olympic torch at the Los Angeles Coliseum was lit for four hours Monday night in Frontiere's memory.

To accommodate the larger crowd, the service was moved from a smaller church to Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Beverly Hills. A reception followed at the Regency Club in Westwood. Among those speaking at the reception were Kroenke, Faulk and comedians Jonathan Winters and Norm Crosby.

Shaw said the family plans a memorial service for Frontiere in St. Louis at some point in the future.

[UtterBlitz]

It does appear the Georgia was liked by many including some of the big name players. I didn't know much about her, but it is nice to see people coming out to honor her.