For a Giants fan, having your funeral at AT&T Park is among the highest of honors.
By Lori Preuitt ••
The San Francisco Giants proved once again they are a class act in their offer to host a public memorial for a victim of last weekend's boating tragedy at the Farallon Islands.
They offered to host the memorial for Alexis Busch at AT&T Park.
Busch, 26, was the daughter of former Giants executive vice president Corey Busch. She was a bat girl for the Giants from 1999 to 2002. Back in 1999 she was the first female bat girl in Major League history. She was also the first person to greet slugger Barry Bonds after he hit home run No. 500.
Busch is one of five people who died when a sailboat the group was racing around the Farallon Islands crashed into the rocks. Her body is one of four that has not been recovered.
Several other crew members were rescued and survived.
Her family announced Monday that a public celebration of her life will be held on Monday, April 30 at 1 p.m. Guests can enter the ballpark through the Willie Mays Gate.
Following the program there will be refreshments and storytelling about Alex and "her life well lived," according to the family.
“Every member of our family extends our heartfelt condolences to the friends and families of all those who died with my sister and we will continue to hold them in our hearts,” said Alexis’s brother Chris Busch. “We would also like to thank Larry Baer and the entire Giants organization for their tremendous support during this difficult time. Alex considered AT&T Park her home away from home and the Giants as her second family.”
Donations in memory of Alexis can be made to:
Giants Community Fund
24 Willie Mays Plaza
San Francisco, CA 94107
Tax I.D. #94-320006
Over the weekend, hundreds of people took part in a memorial flotilla for their sailors who died. There have been other funerals and candlelight services for those who died.
Last Monday Giants President Larry Baer issued the following statement on behalf of the organization regarding the loss:
The San Francisco Giants join the Bay Area in mourning the loss of the five crew members of the "Low Speed Chase" sailboat who died tragically this past weekend.
We were deeply saddened to learn that a member of the Giants Family - Alexis Busch - was one of the victims of this horrible tragedy.
The daughter of former Giants Executive Vice President Corey Busch, Alexis grew up in the Giants organization and went on to become Major League Baseball's first bat girl - a position she held with the Giants for several seasons at Candlestick and AT&T Parks. A true baseball fan, she was a passionate and dedicated member of our organization and she will be deeply missed by the Giants family.
Along with each of the families who lost loved ones in this devastating accident, our thoughts and prayers are with Alexis' loving family--her father Corey, mother Anne Anderson, brother Chris, sister-in-law Laura and her boyfriend Nick Voss.
