Minnesota Bridge

Jack Rhatigan - Memorial and Celebration of Life

 

On Saturday, June 15th, family, friends and a host of bridge players congregated at the Twin City Bridge Center to remember Jack Rhatigan.  Jack's family provided food for all to enjoy.  Teri and Chip Blu were warm hosts, as they have been for decades to our area's players.

 

 

Shannon Rhatigan, Jack's daughter, had a smile on her face as she interacted with all of us. It has been Shannon who kept Facebook followers updated on Jack's condition. And Shannon who decided that, given Jack's love of our game, a gathering at the TCBC would be most meaningful for all - including Jack.

 

 

Shannon was so right. No formal speeches were given. Nevertheless, throughout the memorial, people shared their stories about Jack and expressed sentiments about our friend.  As always, Teri was helpful to all the guests.

 

 

Very long time friends and partners of Jack, like Evan Sachs, had wonderful memories of Jack.  Laced with stories about Jack's superb abilities at the table, his amazing talents at remaining cool and calm throughout - and always being an excellent partner - brought a combination of joy and wistful sadness that Jack will no longer be at the table.

 

 

Shannon shared how much bridge meant to her dad throughout his life.  And added that when Jack could no longer come to the TCBC and compete with his great partners and see friends, fighting his illness became tougher. Yet, seeing the many people who mattered in Jack's life, together, remembering our class act of family member, friend and top notch player, was a comfort to us all.

 

 

We are so grateful that Jack's family, love of his life wife Marilyn, children Shawn and Shannon, grandson Jared, other family members, friends and a host of bridge players attended Saturday to honor Jack.

In so many ways, Jack highlighted what was best about our game - and our bridge players. A tough competitor, a great partner, an honorable man who was respected and appreciated by all...  We will miss Jack... and yet our special memories of him shall last forever.

More photos below.  Apologies that I wasn't able to grab shots of everyone who attended!  You were all greatly appreciated, to be sure.

St. Cloud Granite City Sectional Results

 

With summer in full form now, the Granite City Sectional enjoyed a fine turnout!  Players from throughout Minnesota - and even several states beyond - came, competed and conquered!

Results can be found here. Currently, masterpoint winners are not listed. But if they do appear, I will share them with you.

Of particular note was the success of Carleton College students Jackson Wahl and Sarah Emmons.  After a most successful Gopher Regional, Jackson and Sarah followed up in St. Cloud with two wins, a second place and another overall position!  Their first event, they managed to score over 64%; quite impressive!  We are delighted to see that younger people can fall in love with our great game - and succeed big time at it, too!

  Jackson and Sarah are two of our college students who won a trip to Las Vegas this summer in the ACBL collegiate competition.  Please join me in wishing them well!

Our thanks to tournament & partnership chair Kory Solarz and tournament director Kim Hayward for their fine efforts.  And we thank all our competitors for attending Granite City and enjoying an excellent sectional! 

Unit 103 Board of Directors Meeting Agenda - St. Cloud - 6-14-2019

Patti  Huiras, Secretary for Unit 103, has alerted us to her unit's Board of Directors Meeting tomorrow in St. Cloud.

Our thanks to the Unit 103 Board for all their diligent efforts!  And good luck to all at the St. Cloud sectional, too!

The agenda is below.

Celebration of Life for Jack Rhatigan - Saturday June 15th

 

A reminder that this Saturday Jack Rhatigan's family is honoring and remembering Jack with a celebration of his life.  An open house is scheduled from 4:30 to 7:30 at the Twin City Bridge Center.

Jack spent countless hours at the TCBC enjoying our game and all our friends - as did we so appreciate Jack.  We hope that you can join Jack's family in recounting all our great times with this fine player and wonderful man.

More details can be found here (see below the line)

Granite City Sectional - June 13-15

 

The Granite City Sectional in St. Cloud will soon be upon us!  Thursday, June 13th is the start date. 

Get your favorite partner and teammates and join in the competition!

The sectional flyer is below.

Gopher 2019 - More Highlights!

 

Our Gopher Bulletin editor, Mike Cassel, wanted to give special mention to the pair who won the I/N trophy at Gopher 2019.  Joe Fahey and Gerry Keith played 7 I/N sessions - and - were in the overalls for 6 of the 7!  

Their average throughout their sessions was almost 59%

Very well done, Joe and Gerry!  Congrats on earning that fine trophy and award - and - here's to more achievements down the road!

Rochester Med City Regional - Partnership Chair Change

Please note that we have had a change in for the Partnership Chair at our Rochester Regional in September.

John Ryder was the Partnership Chair, but had to step down from that position.  

We thank John for his efforts - and are most fortunate that we have a fine new Partnership Chair:  Sheri French.

Sheri will do a fine job for us!  A new flyer is below with the changes.

Gopher 2019 Highlights - Education in District 14

 

Education is integral to so much in life.  Of course, bridge is included!  Fine bridge teachers do so much for our game.  They find and introduce new players to the greatest mind game there is.  They aid those who wish to grow their game to do so - learning more and more about all the intricacies of bridge.  They support and improve our players everywhere.

At the Gopher Regional, a number of our excellent bridge teachers were honored. In our first photo above is Sue Greenberg from Rochester.  Sue and her husband Rich do so much for bridge in so many ways - including supporting our teachers!

 

 

MaryAnn Boardman, of Cedar Rapids, Unit 163, is an ACBL accredited teacher. MaryAnn serves as a teacher, mentor and tournament chair for I/N tournaments.  She has also served in several leadership roles in District 14 and Unit 163.

As MaryAnn was unable to be at the Gopher for this presentation, Nancy Klein accepted for MaryAnn at the tournament.

 

 

Layne Vinje, from Rochester, Unit 103, has been instrumental in supporting entry level bridge and Chat Bridge. For those who are no longer able to get to and from home and bridge, Layne is the bridge chauffeur!  He also acts as a mentor several times a month by partnering I/N players and spends extra time and his own resources to support students. Layne also has served several terms as president in Rochester.

 

 

And finally, our U of Minnesota Honors Bridge coaches, from Unit 178.

 

On top is Matthew Bribitzer-Stull, Honors Dean at U of MN, pictured with his students (Matt was unable to be at the presentation). Professors Eric Hendrickson, Paul Gutterman and Glen Meeden (along with Sue G) are in our second photo. And Eric is solo in our last shot.

 

These U of MN teachers have had a profound impact on junior bridge in Minnesota. They have established the teaching of bridge as an honors program extra curricular activity and have shepherded teams into national competitions.  (One was 9th in the nation in 2018; this year, 4 teams from U of MN plan to compete.)  They have spent enormous amounts of extra time and personal resources to expand learning opportunities for our bridge students. 

 

Additionally, this year Eric put forth mighty effort to raise funds throughout our bridge community and beyond, so that more of our students could have the opportunity to attend the Summer Collegiate NABC in Las Vegas. 

 

Please join me in extending applause and huge thanks to our honored teachers!  We are so grateful to them, and to all the other teachers in our bridge community.  There contributions and efforts are helping to keep our game alive and growing, so that generations to come can enjoy and participate in the magic of our great game.

Gopher 2019 Highlights - Carol Cummings Pairs and I/N Winners

 

A great many of remember a long time Minnesota player who not only was one of our finest - but - one of our nicest, too.  A number of our players were able to compete in the Carol Cummings Pairs event on Friday, honoring our friend.

Among them were two brothers; Clark and Bill Cummings.  

So glad to know Clark and Bill enjoyed their mother's event and could be with all of us to remember Carol.

 

 

Meanwhile.....

Two of our I/N players, Steve and Marilyn Riederer of Rochester, earned handsome trophies when their partnership captured the Saturday morning I/N session.

I'm quite certain Carol is smiling about all!

Remembering Jack Rhatigan

 

Jack Rhatigan's daughter Shannon, was uncertain about how to celebrate Jack's life. Then - she came up with a concept that  was just perfect. 

Shannon is going to have a memorial celebration at the Twin City Bridge Center at 6020 Nicollet Avenue in Minneapolis on Saturday, June 15th.  Bridge players, friends, relatives; all are invited and welcome.

Shannon's invitation is below. Jack was one of our star players for decades - and - a star human being.

I hope that many of us can join Shannon and her family at the TCBC to share stories, tell tales, celebrate our friend Jack - and say goodbye.

 

Please join the family of Jack Rhatigan in celebrating his life and mourning his passing at Jack's favorite home-away-from-home, the Twin City Bridge Center. 

This will be a simple open-house style event, with no formal program. Please come share your stories and sympathies with Jack's family and friends.

If trekking to Minneapolis is a challenge for you, please consider visiting Jack's wife Marilyn in the coming months at Oak Meadows Assisted Living in Oakdale, Minnesota. The extra company will be appreciated as she adjusts to living alone after 59-3/4 years of marriage. You can arrange a date by calling Marilyn directly, or by contacting her daughter Shannon via Facebook.

Feel free to pass along this invitation as appropriate. We hope to see you either at the TCBC Open House or at Oak Meadows soon!

 

        Shannon Rhatigan

Scenes from Gopher 2019

 

Great Co-Chairmen!  Great directors!  Wonderful volunteers and fabulous competitors!  Thanks to all!

 

Jack Rhatigan - 1931 - 2019

 

And. Yet again, the task that breaks my heart.  My sad duty to report that Jack Rhatigan passed away yesterday afternoon.  His daughter, Shannon, has been remarkable on updating friends and family on Jack's health and status on Facebook.  So - we knew this was coming ... But still, such a loss.

Jack was one of our top players for decades.  He was the type of player we all would wish to partner.  Very skilled, cool and calm at the table - a talented and prized player for any partnership or team.  At the end of 2018, Jack was the #9 masterpoint holder in Minnesota - particularly an impressive feat, given that Jack had been experiencing more and more health issues as the years passed.

 

 

Personally, I played only once with Jack - and - it was a "sweet and sour" experience.  On our first outing, we entered the NABC Mixed Pairs. We were doing quite well, though the last round or two I started feeling funny. The session ended and we had a good score and qualified high.  And then - my health descended rapidly, only to find out later I had food poisoning.  Ugh.

So.  There was no "tomorrow" for me with Jack - and to my ever lasting sadness, we did never play again together. I did, however, get to appreciate his talents for years thereafter at the table.

 

 

Shannon will alert me when an obituary is available.  And, at present she is unsure of memorial plans for her father. But - we are hoping that perhaps something can be organized at the Twin City Bridge Center to celebrate the life of our fine long time friend and superb competitor.

As soon as I know more, I shall share with you.

And - speaking of "sharing" - I know that we have players out there who have known Jack far longer than I. I invite you to send me thoughts and stories about Jack.

Our deepest condolences to all of Jack's family.  He shall be missed by so very many.

 

 

Gopher Regional 2019 - Final Bulletin & Previous Bulletins

Again - our thanks to everyone involved in the Gopher Regional!  Our superb co-chairs, our dedicated bulletin editor, our fine directors, our many wonderful and giving volunteers, the caddies - and - YOU.

Whether you were the super stars of our regional - or - dipping your toes into tournament bridge - each and every one of you is valued and appreciated.

We hope everyone returns in 2020 (with extras, of course, too!).

Mike's last Bulletin and all the others (in descending order) are below.

Gopher Regional 2019 - Last Day!

Always exciting to see the start of the Gopher Regional. Always a bit sad to see it end.

Mike Cassel has Sunday's Bulletin below. Big thanks to Mike for documenting everyone's accomplishments, triumphs and tales.

Of course, we are extremely grateful to all our volunteers, our directors, our caddies and our fine tournament co-chairmen, Patti Stuhlman and Sue Jackson.  

And, last but surely not least, all our wonderful competitors.  From top flight experts to players first dipping their toes into bridge, we hope everyone enjoyed the competition and the friendships.

Thank you, big time!

Gopher Regional 2019 - Day Six

Enjoy a sunshiny trip to the Gopher Regional - then loads of fun events, hospitality and friends at the tournament!

Another excellent Bulletin below, highlighting accomplishments, interesting hands and more! 

Gopher Regional 2019 - Day Five

Slow rainy start but perking up now!  Results from Thursday - and - plenty more bridge to enjoy at The Gopher!

Our latest and greatest Bulletin below!

Gopher Regional 2019 - Day Four

Sunshine still alludes the Twin Cities .... But bridge at the Gopher remains vibrant and exciting!

Join us this Thursday for a variety of events and hospitality!

Mike Cassel's latest and greatest bulletin below with results, stories and many updates!

Gopher Regional 2019 - Day Three

Cheer yourself up from bleak weather with a day of bridge at the Gopher Regional!

Wednesday's Bulletin is below.  Congrats to all who are competing - doing well - and (most importantly) - having a wonderful time!