For information on submitting an obituary, please contact Reading Eagle by phone at 610-371-5018, or email at obituaries@readingeagle.com or fax at 610-371-5193.

Most obituaries published in the Reading Eagle are submitted through funeral homes and cremation services, but we will accept submissions from families. Obituaries can be emailed to obituaries@readingeagle.com.

In addition to the text of the obituary, any photographs that you wish to include can be attached to this email. Please put the text of the obituary in a Word document, a Google document or in the body of the email. The Reading Eagle also requires a way to verify the death, so please include either the phone number of the funeral home or cremation service that is in charge of the deceased’s care or a photo of his/her death certificate. We also request that your full name, phone number and address are all included in this email.

All payments by families must be made with a credit card. We will send a proof of the completed obituary before we require payment. The obituary cannot run, however, until we receive payment in full.

Obituaries can be submitted for any future date, but they must be received no later than 3:00 p.m. the day prior to its running for it to be published.

Please call the obituary desk, at 610-371-5018, for information on pricing.

Ample Group and LEGO Group have developed and opened India’s first and South Asia’s largest certified store, the LEGO Store in Ambience Mall Gurugram. This expansive 4,500+ sq. ft. retail space brings the LEGO Group brand to life with bright colors, vibrantly decorated walls, and creative branded experiences. The concept of a LEGO store is designed to offer an interactive and immersive experience for customers, sparking creativity, and imagination and leaving a lasting experience and memory for every family in India. 

Through the strategic alliance with LEGO Group, Ample Group, a leading retailer developer and brand story, is taking the forefront of strategic opportunities with global partnerships.

LEGO Store Open in Ambience Mall

The launching of the LEGO Store is timely since India is expected to grow by 6.3% in 2025 and driven by optimistic consumer demand and government backing for growth, India is poised for growth in retail. Talking about this, Rajesh Narang, Founder & CEO of the Ample Group, said, “At Ample, we have always believed in creating meaningful experiences for our customers by bringing some of the world’s most iconic brands closer to Indian customers, be it Apple, Bose, Under Armour,  ASICS, and now LEGO® Group. With the launch of South Asia’s Largest LEGO® Certified Store, we are not just introducing a brand but offering families a space to imagine, play, and create memories together. Our goal is to deliver experiences that go beyond shopping, where every visit feels special and interaction adds value.”

LEGO Group is known for the promotion of creativity, learning and fun, which are important in creating a culture for developing communication and cognitive skills through participation in an active versus passive manner. This will help reduce screen time and to help foster a space for creative, hands-on play that promote imagination and cognitive skill development.   

Ample is committed to providing a premium shopping experience to every Indian in the country by creating partnerships and connections with global brands to enter and develop in the Indian market and aiming for CAGR growth of over 30% over the next five years. Talking about this, Bhavana Mandon, Country Manager, LEGO India, said “We’re thrilled to finally bring the LEGO®️ brand experience to India in close partnership with the Ample Group. We’re laying the foundation for a strong retail presence and aim to help more Indians connect with the joy of play through multiple stores over the next two years. The energy, creativity, and passion we’ve witnessed today show that India’s LEGO®️ moment has truly arrived. As we enter this exciting phase of growth, we look forward to building spaces where people of all ages can build together.”

(One of) the Park City High School sports trophy cases. Photo: Michele Roepke // TownLift

PARK CITY, Utah — Jamie Sheetz, who oversees 24 Park City High School Miners sports programs, 58 teams, nine activities and 20 clubs, has been named High School Athletic Director of the Year by the Utah High School Activities Association.

“We’re all continuously striving at Park City High School Athletics to create the best experience possible alongside these student-athlete’s high school education,” Sheetz told TownLift. “As many opportunities as we can support these kids to enjoy, we want to be here to help families with that.”

Now in his 12th year in this position, Sheetz earned his bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Michigan, then studied sport behavior and performance at Miami University in Ohio before completing his master’s degree in education at Missouri State University. In addition, Sheetz is currently working on a doctorate in Sports Leadership through Concordia University in Chicago.

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His extensive board service includes a three-year term on the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association — “AKA the N triple A” — from 2019-2022, the largest organization for high school athletic directors nationwide. He served 10 years on the Utah Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association board, including as president in 2017, professional development coordinator and certification coordinator. After scaling back his commitments — “I got rid of everything, except one I was on because it was just time to let somebody else do it” — he now serves only on the UHSAA’s Sports Medicine Advisory Committee.

A former Brighton High School baseball player, Sheetz understands the student-athlete experience firsthand.

Elite Athletics Program

Park City High School has produced Olympians Anders Johnson, Josie Johnson, Ashley Farquharson, Rosie Brennan, Casey Dawson and Haley Batten, who have represented the U.S. in Summer, Winter and Youth Games. Current and former Miners competing at Junior Worlds or World Championships level include Augie Roepke, Hannah Baldwin, Wes Campbell, Maddie Keiserman, Sydney Palmer Ledger and Nate Gendron.

This year, 26 seniors committed to college sports, with eight heading to Division I schools: Abby Hanton (Louisiana Tech, soccer), Finley Weldon (Iowa State, gymnastics), Rawson Hardy (Georgia Tech, golf), Sebastian Bodily (Navy, football), Justin Michaelis (Rice, football), Al Hopkins (Utah Tech, soccer), Gretchen Lane (Vermont, swimming) and Pace Swenson (Jacksonville, rowing).

While the gymnast and rower compete outside Sheetz’s official purview, he remains equally proud of all student achievements.

Championship Success

Six Miners teams reached state championships this year, with four capturing Utah titles: boys golf, boys swimming, girls swimming and girls volleyball (second place). Boys track finished second and girls track took third. Both lacrosse teams advanced to late playoff rounds.

Under Sheetz’s tenure, the Miners have won 55 Utah state championships with 38 second-place finishes. The coaching staff has earned national recognition, with recent Coach of the Year awards going to golf’s George Murphy, lacrosse’s Mickey Clayton, soccer’s Chip Cook and volleyball’s Matt Carlson.

Supporting Student-Athletes

Sheetz suffered a career-ending back injury during a summer baseball tournament in Denver while in high school, giving him unique empathy for student-athletes facing similar challenges.

“It was actually during a game we were playing in a summer tournament in Denver,” he said. “Like many other people, I was run out of the game when I got hurt, so I went right into coaching, something that happens to the vast majority of athletes.”

With numerous high-performing athletes, accommodating their extensive travel schedules requires significant coordination. “I thank the teachers for juggling it all because it’s not necessarily easy for the faculty, perhaps no one more so than Ms. Esquivel who manages the student attendance,” he said. “However I know my colleagues and I are on the same page as far as wanting the best for these kids.

“Any time we can support these teenagers in not just their academics in the building but also educate the whole child out in the world, the better off they might do when they graduate,” Sheetz said.

Despite competition from other Park City schools focused on athletic travel accommodations, Sheetz maintains a collaborative approach. “Whatever’s the best choice for those families for whatever reason, for their schedule, for whatever they’re trying to accomplish in the sports world is what’s most important for every kid in the community, no, there’s no competition there,” he said.

Community Partnerships

Park City’s unique athletic landscape includes numerous specialized organizations that Sheetz embraces rather than competes with. The Park City High Schools Mountain Bike Team draws students from multiple district schools, while external organizations manage state-level mountain bike racing.

“They’ve got that sports scene efficiently locked down, Their events are not small and they’ve got it all figured out with the huge number of registrants, they are big races. The amount of detail that goes into that, I can’t imagine the UHSAA, or, you know, Park City High School trying to manage that, it would be almost impossible, and that outside organization gets the job done, like it’s no problem for them.”

Similarly, Park City’s abundance of winter sport clubs allows elite skiers to train at appropriate levels rather than competing in high school programs. “It’s great that there are so many competitive clubs from which these students can choose. They get so good, so fast that it just makes sense this way. I couldn’t imagine some of these skiers who get to represent their country on the global sports stage one weekend then coming back home and racing at a high school level the next weekend, it would sort of be a waste of their energy.”

Future Additions: Esports and Flag Football

This fall, esports joins the Miners lineup as an official lettered activity, featuring Mario Kart, Super Smash Brothers and Rocket League, with potential additions like League of Legends next year.

“The University of Utah has one of the most successful programs in the country in terms of esports. So its finally begun to bleed out into the high schools. Esports have been talked about for about five years now, since COVID. It’s actually considered an activity similar to like debate or drama or music, and the there was enough interest that the UHSAA has now sanctioned it. They’ll host a state championship and competitions, and everything.”

The format offers unique advantages: “For most of the you have teams of teams of five, so you could have, multiple teams playing at that at that level, probably three or four or five varsity teams,” Sheetz said. “One of the many exciting things about it all is that they don’t really need to travel to away schools. You don’t have to pay for a bus, you don’t have to pay for officials, you don’t have to get out of school. So that’s going to be kind of neat to see how that goes.”

Looking further ahead, girls flag football — making its Olympic debut in Los Angeles 2028 — represents another potential addition. “Girls flag is gaining a lot of traction across the country, I think you’re going to see this fall some schools setting them up as clubs to try to grow it so that it can eventually be considered. The UHSAA has a certain standard for something to be called an ’emerging’ sport before they offer to sanction it. So, they’ve got to get it going first. But, I already know that here in Park City we’ve got girls that are going to begin participating in earnest this fall.”

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CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

Pictured are Marshalltown High School eSports Valorant team members Thaw Soe (Captain), Chau Thai, Ruben Sala Sosa, Blake Russell, Sam Bennett, Lwin Thu, Caleb Mastin, Dante Montgomery, Matthew Perez Lopez and Rafael Ordonez. They are coached by Ranen Spies.

The (Valorant) Bobcats finished the season 6-1 with the only loss coming from Waukee NW in week 6 with a match score of 1-2 (3-13, 13-9, 12-14). At state, which was hosted inside the MCSD Orpheum Welcome Center, the Bobcats entered as the three seed and faced off against Waukee in the opening round. They secured a 2-0 match win — (13-4, 13-3).

In the semifinals, the Bobcats faced Waukee NW (number 2 seed) once again and got revenge, taking down the Wolves 2-1 (12-14, 13-10, 13-7) to reach their first ever state championship appearance.

In the championship game, the Bobcats faced off against returning state champions Cedar Rapids Kennedy. Kennedy had yet to lose a game all the way through the season and into the championship game. Marshalltown won game one in overtime 14-12. CR Kennedy fought back in game two and won in overtime 12-14. In game three CR Kennedy defeated Marshalltown 13-2 sealing the deal and the Bobcats lost 2-1.

“From a director standpoint, I could not be more proud of Coach Spies and the Valorant athletes who achieved a state runner up finish. Throughout Coach Spies ran a well organized season. Students not only got better on a competition level, but growth could be seen on an academic and interpersonal level. Each Valorant player displayed teamwork, communication, and a positive attitude day in and day out,” MHS eSports Program Director Logan Wolf said.