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- The Dude
[flv]http://pvp.trb.com/media_3/782847669001/782847669001_1361835713001_ktvi-vid4446-in119914-out124683-04540331-4f028003.flv?videoId=1361849315001&lineUpId=&pubId=876450597001&playerId=1219244489001&affiliateId=[/flv]
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.kplr11.com/news/ktvi-spagnuolo-devaney-remembered-charity-010212,0,6257209.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.kplr11.com/news/ktvi-spagnuo ... 7209.story</a>
ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com)—
Fans saw it coming and might have even wanted to see the firings of former Rams Head Coach, Steve Spagnuolo, and former General Manager, Billy Devaney.
Certainly, Spagnuolo, his wife, Maria, and Devaney will be missed in St. Louis, for who they are and what they do far away from the football field.
Here's a small example: a Fox 2 Sports crew stopped by the Spagnuolo home to see if the couple had anything to say about the news. They did not grant interviews but Maria Spagnuolo gave the crew two pies.
Perhaps the first inkling St. Louis 'at large' got of the Spagnuolos` commitment to things beyond football, was when they volunteered to answer phones at the Salvation Army Fox 2 Call Center, in the wake of the Good Friday tornados in St. Louis.
"To be honest I thought maybe I could drive over to the places and help out, but they would have been blocking everything off. So I'm glad I had the chance to sit here and answer some phones," Steve Spagnuolo said at the time.
He would later take his coaching staff to help victims in Ferguson cleanup.
The Spagnuolos served as chairpersons for the Salvation Army Tree of Lights campaign. The commitment started before they even hit town.
"They called us on their way here; just said they just got a job here in St. Louis and wanted to work with the Salvation Army," said Will Becker of the Salvation Army. "They had worked with the Salvation Army in New York and in Philadelphia."
Devaney, who hired Spagnuolo, was already immersed in charity work , too; even doing a radio ad for Birthright, which helps women facing crisis pregnancies who choose 'life'.
'Educating women that there is an alternative, even though they`re going through a tough time,' Devaney says in the ad.
Maria Spagnuolo volunteered weekly at the Dream Center, a Christian outreach ministry in North St. Louis; helping children in need. From cooking to cleaning, no task was beneath her. She most often attended Rams games with those children in need; her husband never too busy to take time out for those kids; the couple falling in love with St. Louis.
"We hope we're here a long time," Maria Spagnuolo told Fox 2 earlier this year.
She said her commitment to help people in need came from her childhood.
"I saw a lot of kids in need. I guess that's what kind of planted the seed for the work I do now," she said.
It was work she preferred to do out of the limelight.
'Being in the public eye is not natural for me. But it`s also part of it. So you embrace it and deal with it the best you can.'
'Maria has a great story about inviting a homeless person into her home when she was younger,' Becker said.
They also seemed to prefer being surrounded by regular people as opposed to the celebrity crowd.
"There was a Christmas parade going downtown. We were walking in it. I hear this voice, 'Will, Will'. I look over and it's her. She's a great person and so is coach," Becker said. "They're both good, faithful people, community oriented. We'll miss them."
The Spagnuolos were known for riding their bikes through their historic Lafayette Square neighborhood in South St. Louis.
Maria Spagnuolo worked for years as a hairdresser in Philadelphia. She regularly goes back to her old salon there, to cut hair, to keep her hair-dresser's license current, in case she needs it again, because as she's told people, "you never know what life will bring".
<a class="postlink" href="http://www.kplr11.com/news/ktvi-spagnuolo-devaney-remembered-charity-010212,0,6257209.story" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.kplr11.com/news/ktvi-spagnuo ... 7209.story</a>
ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com)—
Fans saw it coming and might have even wanted to see the firings of former Rams Head Coach, Steve Spagnuolo, and former General Manager, Billy Devaney.
Certainly, Spagnuolo, his wife, Maria, and Devaney will be missed in St. Louis, for who they are and what they do far away from the football field.
Here's a small example: a Fox 2 Sports crew stopped by the Spagnuolo home to see if the couple had anything to say about the news. They did not grant interviews but Maria Spagnuolo gave the crew two pies.
Perhaps the first inkling St. Louis 'at large' got of the Spagnuolos` commitment to things beyond football, was when they volunteered to answer phones at the Salvation Army Fox 2 Call Center, in the wake of the Good Friday tornados in St. Louis.
"To be honest I thought maybe I could drive over to the places and help out, but they would have been blocking everything off. So I'm glad I had the chance to sit here and answer some phones," Steve Spagnuolo said at the time.
He would later take his coaching staff to help victims in Ferguson cleanup.
The Spagnuolos served as chairpersons for the Salvation Army Tree of Lights campaign. The commitment started before they even hit town.
"They called us on their way here; just said they just got a job here in St. Louis and wanted to work with the Salvation Army," said Will Becker of the Salvation Army. "They had worked with the Salvation Army in New York and in Philadelphia."
Devaney, who hired Spagnuolo, was already immersed in charity work , too; even doing a radio ad for Birthright, which helps women facing crisis pregnancies who choose 'life'.
'Educating women that there is an alternative, even though they`re going through a tough time,' Devaney says in the ad.
Maria Spagnuolo volunteered weekly at the Dream Center, a Christian outreach ministry in North St. Louis; helping children in need. From cooking to cleaning, no task was beneath her. She most often attended Rams games with those children in need; her husband never too busy to take time out for those kids; the couple falling in love with St. Louis.
"We hope we're here a long time," Maria Spagnuolo told Fox 2 earlier this year.
She said her commitment to help people in need came from her childhood.
"I saw a lot of kids in need. I guess that's what kind of planted the seed for the work I do now," she said.
It was work she preferred to do out of the limelight.
'Being in the public eye is not natural for me. But it`s also part of it. So you embrace it and deal with it the best you can.'
'Maria has a great story about inviting a homeless person into her home when she was younger,' Becker said.
They also seemed to prefer being surrounded by regular people as opposed to the celebrity crowd.
"There was a Christmas parade going downtown. We were walking in it. I hear this voice, 'Will, Will'. I look over and it's her. She's a great person and so is coach," Becker said. "They're both good, faithful people, community oriented. We'll miss them."
The Spagnuolos were known for riding their bikes through their historic Lafayette Square neighborhood in South St. Louis.
Maria Spagnuolo worked for years as a hairdresser in Philadelphia. She regularly goes back to her old salon there, to cut hair, to keep her hair-dresser's license current, in case she needs it again, because as she's told people, "you never know what life will bring".