'The Voice' is laid to rest

Bob Sheppard, known as "The Voice of the Yankees," and also dubbed "The Voice of God" by former Yankee great Reggie Jackson, was laid to rest on July 15 at St. Christopher's Church on Merrick Road in his hometown of Baldwin. Sheppard died on July 11 at the age of 99.

The Baldwin Fire Department stood at attention and, along with the South Hempstead Fire Department, raised the American flag between the two trucks.

Hundreds of onlookers stood outside the church and listened to the service that was audible though loud speakers set up on the church steps. "Irish Tenor" Ronan Tynan sang "On Eagle's Wings" and "Panis Angelicus."

"It was an honor to have known Bob Sheppard," said John Mara, New York Giants president, who was one of the eulogists at the Mass of Christian Burial. "He was one of the finest gentlemen that I have even met, and there will never be another one like him."

Sheppard, along with being the voice of the Yankees, was also the voice of the 'Football Giants,' as he liked to call them, from 1956 to 2006.

"He was one gentleman, and a gentle man," said NY Yankees General Manager Brian Cashman. "He had no ego, no ulterior motives, no hidden agendas."

Cashman said that Sheppard came to Yankee Stadium for 57 years to focus on two things: Doing his job to the best of his ability, and treating everyone, from George Steinbrenner to the press box attendee, with warmth and kindness."

"My father touched many lives,deeply and profoundly," said Sheppard's oldest son, Paul. "He was a tough act to follow." He said he could imagine his father saying, "Good evening, ladies and gentleman -- welcome to heaven."

"He stayed right where he knew life was, because there was no pretense of who he was," said Rev. Steven R. Camp. "He and Mary had their life together, and they celebrated as parishoners, making lives better by simply being who they were."

Many of the Yankees baseball team was expected at the church by bus for the services, but sources say that they were rerouted directly to the cemetery due to a previous accident on the Meadowbrook Parkway, which was closed for hours -- although a team spokesman who answered the Yankees media office phone would not confirm that there was a "bus load" of Yankees, but would only say that the team was already "well represented" at the chuch.

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