I too am heartbroken. I will miss, but not forget, my cyber and email buddy.
Continued prayers for her family as they go through this grieving process.
As sad as this is, it's comforting to know that she believed "to die is gain".
God bless you Mary Ann.
What a sad day for us all at HSBBW
I KNOW Mary Ann is in a great place.
For her family:
I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you - the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm- He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121
I KNOW Mary Ann is in a great place.
For her family:
I lift up my eyes to the hills - where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip - He who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you - the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm- He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Psalm 121
The "LOBBY" will never be the same, as we are now missing one of our founding members. The LOBBY is a group of baseball moms who met here on this wonderful site 6 years ago, and formed a special kinship....our self-named acronym stood for "Ladies of BaseBall -- YO!"...and I remember MA getting a chuckle out of that as it made us sound "pretty cool" for a group of moms! 
And thru this group of wonderful moms, Mary Ann was certainly a leader when it came to support and strength thru troubling times for each of us. I consider myself fortunate that I got to spend a wonderful weekend with her and my other LOBBY members in CA, talked with her numerous times on the telephone, and exchanged emails pretty much on a daily basis until her health took a turn for the worse.
In this terribly sad moment, I do find comfort in knowing that Mary Ann had such an incredible faith and I'm sure that knowledge is helping both her family and her friends in mourning her passing. God Bless MA......The LOBBY will miss you. But if I know you....you are already starting a new LOBBY up in heaven.
And thru this group of wonderful moms, Mary Ann was certainly a leader when it came to support and strength thru troubling times for each of us. I consider myself fortunate that I got to spend a wonderful weekend with her and my other LOBBY members in CA, talked with her numerous times on the telephone, and exchanged emails pretty much on a daily basis until her health took a turn for the worse. In this terribly sad moment, I do find comfort in knowing that Mary Ann had such an incredible faith and I'm sure that knowledge is helping both her family and her friends in mourning her passing. God Bless MA......The LOBBY will miss you. But if I know you....you are already starting a new LOBBY up in heaven
.
She was an incredible woman......
I am just empty.
quote:taken away from this community far too soon.
I am just empty.
I just prayed for Mary Ann this morning. Then I turned on the computer to find out this sad news. Continued thoughts and prayers for her family and friends.
Obviously, God needed another Baseball Angel to look over all of us here, new and old posters.
I went back and previewed several of her previous posts. Wow! What a great lady and mother she must have been. As a new member, I will miss her caring insight and gentle advise.
To the family: I know you are greiving and we feel your pain but be blessed in the knowledge that Mary Ann had so many friends.
I went back and previewed several of her previous posts. Wow! What a great lady and mother she must have been. As a new member, I will miss her caring insight and gentle advise.
To the family: I know you are greiving and we feel your pain but be blessed in the knowledge that Mary Ann had so many friends.
What a great place this is, there is no other community on the internet as strong or cares about others like the HSBBW.
I hope that eventually her family comes on to see how much she will be missed, by the Old Timers as well as our new websters. For those who did not know FBM please do a search and read her posts. It will give you an insight as to why we love this place, the game, our players and her faith in God and why baseball moms are special.
My condolances to the entire Shappi family.
TPM
I hope that eventually her family comes on to see how much she will be missed, by the Old Timers as well as our new websters. For those who did not know FBM please do a search and read her posts. It will give you an insight as to why we love this place, the game, our players and her faith in God and why baseball moms are special.
My condolances to the entire Shappi family.
TPM
Dear Friends,
Although I haven't posted in a few years, my son is not playing anymore, I still pop on occasionally to see how the world of HS Baseball is doing.
MaryAnn has been part of my life for many years and Marv and I laugh at the whole 'connection' with other Baseball Mom's. MaryAnn and I were fortunate to actually SEE many of the Mom's we 'met' here in this community.
I promise to print this thread and give it to Marv, AJ, and her Mother. I know they don't realize how many people she has touched over the years here in the baseball family.
I know they appreciate your continued prayers for peace and healing.
Blessings to you all.
Susan aka: CatchMm
Although I haven't posted in a few years, my son is not playing anymore, I still pop on occasionally to see how the world of HS Baseball is doing.
MaryAnn has been part of my life for many years and Marv and I laugh at the whole 'connection' with other Baseball Mom's. MaryAnn and I were fortunate to actually SEE many of the Mom's we 'met' here in this community.
I promise to print this thread and give it to Marv, AJ, and her Mother. I know they don't realize how many people she has touched over the years here in the baseball family.
I know they appreciate your continued prayers for peace and healing.
Blessings to you all.
Susan aka: CatchMm
I am sad to hear this news.
May Peace be with family and friends.
God Bless.
May Peace be with family and friends.
God Bless.
Sad Day...I exchanged a couple of PM's with her recently...and before that, a couple of years ago. I did not know her personally, but we belong to the same "family". She was a tremendous encouragement and a joy to "talk" with in those few short posts.
May the Lord bless you and take good care of you...
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you...
May He look on you with favor, Shappi's, and give you His peace.
May the Lord bless you and take good care of you...
May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you...
May He look on you with favor, Shappi's, and give you His peace.
I am so saddened by this....Mary Ann, we will miss you terribly....
To Mary Ann's family,
I am so sorry for your loss.
To Mary Ann's family,
I am so sorry for your loss.
Oh God, We are stricken with immense grief at the loss of Mary Ann. We pray to God Almighty for her soul and we express our condolence and prayers to her distressed family. Let the Almighty Lord send his heavenly angels and comfort the agonized family. The loss is great for us, but let us abide in the great purpose God has destined for her in heaven. Let us remember the Mary Ann fondly and warmly,and let our prayers strengthen the family.
Today, as in many days, I struggle with the will of the Master.
Today, as in many days, I struggle with the will of the Master.
I am left at this moment not knowing what to say. I just logged on to see if there was an update on Mary Ann.
Mary Ann and I exchanged emails many times during her battles with health. If there is one thing that I can say I took away from those conversations, it was that she had a faith in God that was powerful and should bring a source of strength to her family at this time. She was never bashful about sharing that faith. She also talked of her husband, son and daughter in law with such joy and pride, that one always had to be touched.
Mary Ann, you will be missed by many more than I'm suspect most of us here will ever know. However, all of us here will certainly know the void you leave behind in your baseball home.
Rest in peace sweet lady.
Mary Ann and I exchanged emails many times during her battles with health. If there is one thing that I can say I took away from those conversations, it was that she had a faith in God that was powerful and should bring a source of strength to her family at this time. She was never bashful about sharing that faith. She also talked of her husband, son and daughter in law with such joy and pride, that one always had to be touched.
Mary Ann, you will be missed by many more than I'm suspect most of us here will ever know. However, all of us here will certainly know the void you leave behind in your baseball home.
Rest in peace sweet lady.
I, too as many others felt a kinship with Mary Ann after reading here sage advice and felt I knew her a little bit because of this. Mine and my family's prayers go out for her family's peace of mind. She was a great lady!
"The players are always the same age, but the man in the bleachers gets older every year."
"The players are always the same age, but the man in the bleachers gets older every year."
Lord, as we mourn the sudden death of Mary Ann, show us the immense power of Your goodness and strengthen our belief that she has entered into Your Presence. Amen
This is a very sad day for me, to say the very least. Mary Ann was outgoing and welcoming to me as we went through the recruiting process, and later on. We corresponded occasionally sharing good baseball days and bad. She was so very rightfully proud of AJ and Katie, both academically and athletically. She did an awesome job as a mom.
Rest In Peace Mary Ann.
John
Rest In Peace Mary Ann.
John
What very sad news..........Our prayers and best wishes for Mary Ann's family through this difficult time and beyond.
I haven't had much chance to visit the website lately, so this caught me as a very sad surprise.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Mary Ann, and her entire family.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Mary Ann, and her entire family.
For me, and I am sure for so very many of us, Mary Ann Shappi, aka FutureBack.Mom, aka HighlanderMom brought rays of baseball sunshine into her posts and our daily discussions of this game that brings us together.
We will miss her but don't think we will forget her affection for the HSBBW, her cyber friends and most of all the love she proudly posted for AJ, his wife, and her husband and family.
My thoughts are with her family for the joy she brought into their lives and my deepest sympathies for their loss
I would imagine FBM might well be working that big GM in heaven for AJ to get that first MLB appearance. Wouldn't that be something?
Would not surprise me a bit.
We will miss her but don't think we will forget her affection for the HSBBW, her cyber friends and most of all the love she proudly posted for AJ, his wife, and her husband and family.
My thoughts are with her family for the joy she brought into their lives and my deepest sympathies for their loss
I would imagine FBM might well be working that big GM in heaven for AJ to get that first MLB appearance. Wouldn't that be something?
Would not surprise me a bit.
My heart aches -- not for Mary Ann, who is now enjoying sweet fellowship with her Savior, but for her family and friends. What a tremendous encouragement she was to so many on this site and elsewhere. May the Lord graciously give His peace which passes understanding to all who grieve her passing.
A sad day indeed. My thoughts of Mary Ann will remain for a long long time. Mary Ann is the image we should all think about we talk about the perfect baseball parent.
Fungo
Fungo
Sadness. My profound condolences to the Shappis, and to all that she loved. She will be missed around here.
My thoughts and prayers are with her family. She was one I would go back and search her posts for information. I am so saddened.
We have lost a wonderful person. I met Mary Ann in 2001 when our boys squared off against each other during a high school tournament. We were the only team from Florida playing in AJ's back yard and Mary Ann was standing behind the backstop and began asking me questions about our team. She made me feel very comfortable and was very complimentary about our overmatched players. I knew right then what a classy person she was. I asked her what her name was and she said Mary Ann Shappi. I had seen AJ pitch the night before on the Cal State Fullerton field and completely dominate the opposing team so I said are you AJ Shappi's mother and she was a little surprised-told her I saw the game last night and had never seen such a performance by a HS pitcher. She kind of shrugged it off and just said "AJ was very happy". We talked for a few more innings and said our goodbyes. Little did I know that our paths would cross again a couple of years later on the HSBaseball Web. We've PM'd a number of times and I root for AJ as if he were my own son.
AJ your mother was a wonderful person that touched a lot of lives all over this country and she was very,very proud of you.
You can be very,very proud of her. She was a GEM!
We miss you Mary Ann.
AJ your mother was a wonderful person that touched a lot of lives all over this country and she was very,very proud of you.
You can be very,very proud of her. She was a GEM!
We miss you Mary Ann.
quote:* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you;
He will never leave you nor forsake you.
Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."
Deuteronomy 31:8 [8/21/08]
Mary Ann,
I feel so blessed and honored to call you " friend ".
You are a GEM indeed.
My heart is broken.
May your heaven be filled with pink poodle hugzzz forever.
...and may your strength that you so selflessly gave to others, help us all through this difficult time. You will be missed deeply.
Our hearts are heavy, this day.
My love and deepest sympathy to your family~
When I remember Mary Ann the Fruits of the Spirit come to mind; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness...she truly walked the walk. Even through all her health issues, she lived and died in victory over her circumstances.
As others have mentioned Mary Ann's Faith was the source of her strength and comfort.
In Memory of Mary Ann Shappi, John 14:1-6 1"Do Not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going." 5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
As Mary Ann has been such a blessing to me, I pray that our many prayers and condolences will bless and comfort the Shappi family and her Mother. May the peace of God be with you all.
As others have mentioned Mary Ann's Faith was the source of her strength and comfort.
In Memory of Mary Ann Shappi, John 14:1-6 1"Do Not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4You know the way to the place where I am going." 5Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" 6Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
As Mary Ann has been such a blessing to me, I pray that our many prayers and condolences will bless and comfort the Shappi family and her Mother. May the peace of God be with you all.
I never met Mary Ann in person. But I spent many a day and night over the last few years talking to her and getting to know her. She was a wonderfull person in every way. She will be missed. I feel like I lost a close friend today. FutureBack.Mom was a part of our baseball family. I consider everyone I have gotten to know over the years here as my friends. I have met many of you and many of you I have never gotten the chance to meet. Mary Ann will be missed by all of us. God Bless her family and comfort them in this time of need.
Sad, sad news of a great lady. She will be missed. Our prayers are with her and her family.
As we mourn the passing of our dear friend, Mary Ann, I also have to reflect on why she is so special. Attached is a picture from 2003, the first time I met MA and CatchMom live - who came (with Marv) to see my son (still in High School) play. For me, a perfect example of how MA touched so many.
Happier Times
Happier Times
URKMB,
Thank you so much for posting the pic so everyone can put a name to the face.
Hope all is well with you and your family.
Thank you so much for posting the pic so everyone can put a name to the face.
Hope all is well with you and your family.
I'm just heart broken.
I never meet Mary Ann but like many others I know her from this message board and feel like I've lost a dear friend.
I felt a special connection with mary Ann because our sons picked back to back in the 2004 draft...what are the odds that we would "meet" here.
My thoughts and prayers go out to her family
I never meet Mary Ann but like many others I know her from this message board and feel like I've lost a dear friend.
I felt a special connection with mary Ann because our sons picked back to back in the 2004 draft...what are the odds that we would "meet" here.
My thoughts and prayers go out to her family
Yeah! That is so refreshing to such a depressing day. Now we have a big beautiful smile and lady (all three are so lovely) to picture in our prayers and thoughts. Thank you so much!
What a happy spirit about her, she will make an incredible Angel.
What a happy spirit about her, she will make an incredible Angel.
I will certainly miss her gentle words, her deep faith, and most of all her wonderful example of how to be a humble yet proud baseball parent. The world is a far richer place for her having been here.
My thoughts tonight are with her family and friends with my deepest sympathies for their incredible loss.
My thoughts tonight are with her family and friends with my deepest sympathies for their incredible loss.
Prayers for her and her family from Florida With Love
Thank you for the picture!
Prayers for her family at this difficult time.
Prayers for her family at this difficult time.
My heart and prayers go out to the family. I know how tough this time is because my dad passed away 10 years ago from lung cancer.
There are some really nice sentiments on here - is there anyway someone can print these out and give them to her kids and family? I believe they would really appreciate seeing all these great words and hopefully get some comfort out of them.
There are some really nice sentiments on here - is there anyway someone can print these out and give them to her kids and family? I believe they would really appreciate seeing all these great words and hopefully get some comfort out of them.
.
The occasion of the Chicago White Sox playing in the World Series against the Houston Astros back in '05 inspired Bullwinkle to start a lighthearted thread regarding the series. It looked like fun, and being a White Sox fan, it made it even more exciting.
Although I had only been a member of this site for a few short months, I mustered up enough courage to step in and try to be my silly self, a bit nervous about how I might be received. I posted a few comments and who do you suppose jumped right in to have some good, clean, and old fashioned fun? FutureBack.Mom of course... God bless her! Before it was done I had made over 100 posts...spurred on by her lively give and take.
We, along with others, had a particularly enjoyable evening and that night remains my most memorable on this great site. I met a remarkably warm, clever, intelligent, and caring person...someone who took the time to engage a relative newcomer and make him feel welcome. My respect and fondness for FutureBack.Mom was immediate and deep, and over time it never diminished...it only was bolstered as I got to know her.
It is apparent from all of the fine comments in this thread that Mary Ann's legacy is secure. She lived her life to the fullest and continues to contribute substantially to the reservoir of goodness...her warmth, friendliness, compassion, and steadiness are so precious and necessary. We are all much better having known Mary Ann and learning from her.
So as she gazes down on her family and friends, let's reward Mary Ann with actions and behavior that will bring a gentle smile to her face...she will know that the decent life she lived will certainly have been very worthwhile.
The world will forever remain a better place for having Mary Ann grace its bounds.
The occasion of the Chicago White Sox playing in the World Series against the Houston Astros back in '05 inspired Bullwinkle to start a lighthearted thread regarding the series. It looked like fun, and being a White Sox fan, it made it even more exciting.
Although I had only been a member of this site for a few short months, I mustered up enough courage to step in and try to be my silly self, a bit nervous about how I might be received. I posted a few comments and who do you suppose jumped right in to have some good, clean, and old fashioned fun? FutureBack.Mom of course... God bless her! Before it was done I had made over 100 posts...spurred on by her lively give and take.
We, along with others, had a particularly enjoyable evening and that night remains my most memorable on this great site. I met a remarkably warm, clever, intelligent, and caring person...someone who took the time to engage a relative newcomer and make him feel welcome. My respect and fondness for FutureBack.Mom was immediate and deep, and over time it never diminished...it only was bolstered as I got to know her.
It is apparent from all of the fine comments in this thread that Mary Ann's legacy is secure. She lived her life to the fullest and continues to contribute substantially to the reservoir of goodness...her warmth, friendliness, compassion, and steadiness are so precious and necessary. We are all much better having known Mary Ann and learning from her.
So as she gazes down on her family and friends, let's reward Mary Ann with actions and behavior that will bring a gentle smile to her face...she will know that the decent life she lived will certainly have been very worthwhile.
The world will forever remain a better place for having Mary Ann grace its bounds.
quote:There are some really nice sentiments on here - is there anyway someone can print these out and give them to her kids and family?
Coach2709,
Yes, CatchMm (Susan) is a long-time friend of Mary Ann and has spent time at the hospital with her family during these difficult days. Susan is planning to print out the warm thoughts and condolences in our forum and share them with Mary Ann's family. Perhaps then they can gain some idea of how much "FutureBack.Mom" has meant to so many of her baseball friends.
Julie
WOW!!!! 
I never really had much interaction with her but always admired her kindness and her passion for the game. My prayers to her family.
I never really had much interaction with her but always admired her kindness and her passion for the game. My prayers to her family.
Nope, that is NOT how I pictured Mary Ann!!!!! Thanks for posting the photo----she is beautiful----as are catchmom and UrKillingMeBlue!
So few of us actually met her.....yet how can we all be so sad? It’s the magic of this website, but more importantly, it is the magic of Mary Ann. We DID know her. She was so easy to know and even easier to like and respect.
I recall one weekend this past spring when she and some other girl friends posted….it was as if we were 13 years old at a slumber party! Yet we weren’t----- we were just moms of baseball-playing sons. We didn't necessarily have much in common, we lived all over the country, had never met, yet somehow we connected to each other through our computers and became friends……..What a world! What a website!
Woody suggested that we reward Mary Ann with actions and behavior which will make her smile….I agree. She had class and grace and dignity and a great sense of humor. She was definitely one of those people for whom the phase “When ++++++++ talks, people listen” was written. I did, anyway.
Her faith was inspirational and admirable. I always took the time to read her signature line, no matter what it was, or how many times I had read it before. I felt that if a passage was special to Mary Ann, it should have meaning for me, too. She never failed me!
What a profound loss we are experiencing. What a profound loss her family has. The world mourns her, too. It is a small world, and one which is a little less wonderful right now.
I shall miss her. May eternal rest be granted to her, perpetual light shine upon her, and may she rest in peace. Amen.
So few of us actually met her.....yet how can we all be so sad? It’s the magic of this website, but more importantly, it is the magic of Mary Ann. We DID know her. She was so easy to know and even easier to like and respect.
I recall one weekend this past spring when she and some other girl friends posted….it was as if we were 13 years old at a slumber party! Yet we weren’t----- we were just moms of baseball-playing sons. We didn't necessarily have much in common, we lived all over the country, had never met, yet somehow we connected to each other through our computers and became friends……..What a world! What a website!
Woody suggested that we reward Mary Ann with actions and behavior which will make her smile….I agree. She had class and grace and dignity and a great sense of humor. She was definitely one of those people for whom the phase “When ++++++++ talks, people listen” was written. I did, anyway.
Her faith was inspirational and admirable. I always took the time to read her signature line, no matter what it was, or how many times I had read it before. I felt that if a passage was special to Mary Ann, it should have meaning for me, too. She never failed me!
What a profound loss we are experiencing. What a profound loss her family has. The world mourns her, too. It is a small world, and one which is a little less wonderful right now.
I shall miss her. May eternal rest be granted to her, perpetual light shine upon her, and may she rest in peace. Amen.