Gilbert Mark Splaine

Gil truly lived all of his 101 years to the fullest. His true loves were sports, his religion, and his Irish whiskey. He was born in an Irish community in Hillman City, Seattle, until his family moved to the hill behind Franklin High. Gil attended his beloved O’Dea high school where he thought he would pull a shenanigan by registering his name as Aloysius Splaine. This story came out when we located his high school yearbook and could not find his name, but there was a tall boy with black hair on the football team with his last name. Gil played football and hockey in high school and continued on to a semi-pro level after high school.

Gil followed his father’s footsteps and entered into the construction field which he turned out to love. His interest for this career followed to future generations. He also loved the outdoors; many summer weekends were spent in camping trips with the “Manning clan”. As a Boy Scout leader, he led many hikes with the boys into the mountains as well.

He met Susie while she was working at a diner next to Chubby and Tubby on Rainier Avenue. They fell in love, married, and spent 44 years together until her passing in 1987. He was fortunate enough to be able to retire and they traveled to Arizona together so he could continue his love of baseball. Gil joined softball teams in Renton and in Arizona. Gil also was an avid fan of track and field and has a room full of trophies. To this day he still holds Senior World records for several events. His last run was in 2015, where he won medals at the age of 94.

Gil continued with his love of baseball and eventually met Edna who also played on a team. Together they were able to travel to many places for different baseball tournaments. His athletic skills led him to winning the Senior Softball World Series several times. They married and lived in Renton until her passing. Gil enjoyed going to Arizona every winter with his son-in-law Larry. They had many years of playing ball, going to the Elks and enjoying sports together. Gil announced that at this stage in his life Larry was his “best friend”.

Gil is survived by his children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Including Susan and her husband Larry , with Patrick and Katie Maureen , son Jim and wife Sandy, with Jayme and Bree son Robert and wife Maureen with Jessica and Sean and Carol and her children in Michigan

Gil had specific requests that there be no memorial; he said they just made everyone sad. He would rather everyone take a shot of Irish Whiskey in honor of his memory. Slainte!