This Just In ...

Goodbye and God bless to a good friend and official

Posted by Kevin Fischer on Dec. 8, 2009

Throughout 2009, I’ve blogged about individuals I’ve known that have been taken from this life too early. They knew their fate, but never let that dim their optimism or diminish their desire to make a difference.

Because of my heavy involvement in high school and college sports in the area, I’ve come to know many referees and officials. One of the nicest and best was John Maniscalco. I pass along the following news sent in an e-mail, hoping to reach friends of a very good man I missed seeing on the soccer field the past year. Now I know why he wasn’t working games.

God bless you, John.

Here is an e-mail I received today:

“It is with deepest sympathy that I send you a copy of an email I received today about our friend and fellow official, John Maniscalco. He was loved by all of us and a conscientious official in many sports. He will surely be missed.

Our friend and basketball, volleyball, softball, baseball and soccer ref, John Maniscalco died of leukemia Monday at home after a year-long battle with the disease. He was 66 years old.

Funeral arrangements are pending and I will report them as soon as announced. His leukemia had been in remission but came back two weeks ago. Things moved very quickly from that point.

Survivors include his wife of 41 years, Cheri, daughter Aimee of Chicago, son Dean of Phoenix and four grandchildren that were the light of his life.

After graduating from Riverside High School where he was class president, John earned a degree in education from UW-Madison in 1965. He taught elementary school, first at St. Vernonica Catholic School on the south side and then for many years with Milwaukee Public Schools, most notably at Henry David Thoreau School.

He was from a very large family -- one of 13 siblings -- and it is no exaggeration that he had hundreds of friends. Those included teachers, area referees and officials in five sports, a tight circle of high school classmates, a circle of college friends and in Milwaukee's Italian community. He officiated soccer, baseball, basketball, volleyball and softball for nearly 25 years in southeast Wisconsin.

He was proud of his efforts to win equal pay for soccer officials and for the membership growth of the Southeast Wisconsin High School Soccer Referee Unit (from about 80 members to more than 150) during eight years as president.

A group of friends are asking the family's permission to establish in his name an appropriate gift or scholarship for a high school graduate who intends to pursue a teaching degree.”