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BOSTON — A few weeks before Christmas this December, Stacey Wakefield called the Jimmy Fund Clinic at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to ensure that an important Wakefield family tradition would continue. I informed you.
For years, Stacey and her husband, former Boston Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield, have visited Boston’s famous pediatric cancer research and treatment center every Christmas time to hand out gifts to children and talk baseball. While doing so, he always gave me hope. And encouragement. It was one of many Jimmy Fund-related activities that dotted Tim and Stacey’s calendars over the years. In fact, as his playing career was coming to an end, Tim had signed on as honorary chairman of the Jimmy Fund. When Tim and Stacey started raising a family, Brianna and Trevor also joined in on the action.
This time it will be different. Tim Wakefield, the graceful knuckleballer who mesmerized batters and captivated fans for nearly 20 years, died of brain cancer on October 1st. He passed away at the age of 57. And while Stacey also continued to battle cancer himself, the details of his diagnosis were unknown to most outside the Red Sox/Jimmy Fund family.
But around Christmas time, Stacey Wakefield was on the phone with Lisa Scherber, longtime director of patient and family programs at the Jimmy Fund Clinic. Stacey will be there with Briana, who is now a veteran of these events herself.
“Stacey wasn’t in very good shape physically,” Schaber said. “She was like, sitting in front of the clinic. And I took Brianna. All I could think of was how proud Stacey was of Brianna. That was it.”
On Wednesday, the Red Sox released a statement from the Wakefield family announcing that Stacey had passed away later that day. “Her sense of loss is unimaginable, especially after losing Tim just under five months ago,” her family said. “Our hearts are completely broken.”
The same goes for our own minds. For all to see, Stacey Wakefield is a monument to her teamwork, not only in providing for her family, but also in sharing her long and tireless commitment to her husband’s Jimmy Fund. was. If we outsiders of her knew anything about her, it was that. When Tim registered as a supporter of the Jimmy Fund, Stacey also registered with him. For storage.
“She was a mama bear,” Sharver said. “There is no other way to describe her. She tried to teach children to live with love and to do things for others. Dana Farber and Jimmy Fund What they have done for us at the clinic is immeasurable.”
It’s hard to understand the sadness of two Boston heroes being consumed by the illness they worked so hard to overcome. Tim was certainly a famous baseball player, but together they had enough resources to enjoy a lifetime of leisurely, high-class pursuits. But they did so much that they never received public attention. As recently as September, the night before his death, Tim called Schaber to tell him that his family would be attending the annual Jimmy Fund walk the next day.
“They both had health issues and were planning to participate,” Schaber said. “They wanted to be strong for everyone. It was amazing.”
The next morning, Stacey texted to let Tim know that his condition had worsened and that he was on his way to the hospital.
We’re not talking about photo ops or autograph sessions here. We’re talking about commitment and two people doing real work under dire circumstances. Again, Tim Wakefield was scheduled to participate in the Jimmy Fund Walk the night before his death. And with her own health at risk, Stacey Wakefield sparked an annual Christmas tradition in her family with her daughter Brianna in tow.
“Anything we asked them to do, they did it,” Schaber said. “And they surprised us with their thoughts and ideas.
“They did it together and it was really cool to see,” Sharver said. “Their goal was to help as many kids as possible. And then, when they both found themselves in this situation, they just didn’t stop.”
Tim Wakefield isn’t the first Red Sox player to make the Jimmy Fund a part of his life. He won’t be the last. It was Boston’s National League club, the Braves, that first brought Jimmy Fund to our attention, back when Boston had two major league baseball teams. Once the Braves left town, the Red Sox hired Jimmy Fund. The great Ted Williams was a big early supporter. In 1967, the “impossible dream” Red Sox won the pennant and voted their entire World Series stake to the Jimmy Fund. Since then, Sox players have been named members of the Jimmy Fund, from Carl Yastrzemski to Brock Holt. Roger Clemens, who last played for the Red Sox in 1996, still returns to Boston to join the Jimmy Fund, and does so in good spirits.
As a result of Stacey Wakefield’s death, particularly from cancer, we are educated or reminded of the countless contributions that sports star families have made to society. This Christmas, when Brianna Wakefield visited the Jimmy Fund Clinic to hand out presents to children suffering from cancer, her father had died from this terrible disease just a few months earlier, and her mother was sitting in front. , we can only imagine what emotions she was feeling. , she is a cancer patient herself.
“When Brianna was very young, she would come with Stacey and Tim at Christmas time and follow her parents in handing out presents to the children,” Sharver said. “I watched her every year. She grew up doing this and loved it. It was really beautiful to see how proud Stacey and Tim were of her.”
The work that Tim and Stacey Wakefield have done for the Jimmy Fund continues.
(Top photo of Stacey and Tim Wakefield in 2020: Kelvin Ma / MediaNews Group / Boston Herald via Getty Images)
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