Former Boston University hockey player Mark Bavis, who died in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, was remembered by the city of Roslindale Saturday, which named the street intersection in front of his boyhood home after him.
Bavis played for the Boston University hockey team alongside his twin bother Michael from 1990 to 1993. He became a talent scout for the Los Angeles Kings in 2000, and was flying to California to visit a training camp on Sept. 11 when the plane he was traveling on, United Airlines Flight 175 from Boston, crashed into the World Trade Center a short time after takeoff.
In his memory, the intersection of the streets he grew up on, Weekes Avenue and Alpheus Road, was dedicated in his name. More than 150 friends, neighbors, and family members attended the ceremony in front of the Bavis house, including Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, several members of the Boston City Council and State Senator Marian Walsh.
Menino spoke at the event, which began at 2 p.m. He said he had many memories of the Bavis brothers since they started playing youth hockey with his son, and said Mark had been a great person. He then spoke about the work Michael has done to carry on his brother’s memory.
‘Mike has done a great job carrying the torch,’ he said. ‘This is more than a sign; it is a remembrance of the future the future of young people in our city because of what Mike is doing in memory of his brother. Michael, you are a true hero.’
City Counselor Robert Consalvo (Roslindale) who, according to Michael Bavis, was instrumental, along with the Mayor, in putting together the dedication, thanked the family for giving him a chance to show his respect for Mark.
‘I’d like to thank the Bavis family for allowing me to play a small part in honoring Mark, a true American hero,’ he said.
Mary Bavis, Mark’s mother, then thanked everyone who attended. The mayor and the family then pulled the string to unveil the new sign, which fell to the ground along with the red, white and blue covering. The family laughed, and said that Mark would have done the same.
‘Mark’s laughing. He’d get a charge out of this,’ said Mrs. Bavis.
After the dedication, Menino said he had immediately agreed to work with Consalvo on the plan for the dedication, because he felt Mark deserved it.
‘Mark was a special individual who excelled in sports, excelled in the classroom and excelled in the community,’ he said. ‘Mark was a good hockey player, but he was a better person.’
Bill O’Brien, who coached Mark from youth hockey through high school hockey, said Mark had been a wonderful person, and the dedication was an amazing honor for the Bavis family.
His son, Chris O’Brien, lived in the neighborhood with the Bavis family and had been friends with Mark since childhood. He called the ceremony ‘a great tribute for a great guy,’ and said he was glad the city honored his friend.
Michael Bavis, who is now an assistant hockey coach at BU, said the family appreciated the dedication of the street to Mark.
‘We spent a lot of time here,’ he said. ‘It was nice to be recognized.’
Shannon Sylvester, Mark’s niece, said she felt the focus of the day had been a good one.
‘It’s hard celebrating and not getting upset, but it was really nice that today recognized celebration, not mourning,’ she said.
According to Mark’s sisters Kathy and Kelly, the ceremony was only the beginning of the day. On Saturday night, a fundraiser was held for the Mark Bavis Leadership Foundation, which was set up by Michael and the rest of the family. The comedy show, which was organized in order to give out three scholarships to successful Massachusetts high school seniors, sold out its capacity 900 tickets in only three weeks, Kathy said.
Michael Bavis called the response unbelievable. He said he started the foundation after realizing how involved his brother had been with the youths he had coached.
‘I was amazed to find out that kids he had coached two or three years before, he had talked to only days or weeks before. That’s rare,’ he said. ‘We want to raise the fund so we can award thousands of dollars per year. We want to make a difference for a large number of kids.’
He said the family hoped to make the scholarship foundation very successful in honor of Mark.
‘My brother’s legacy will be this foundation,’ he said.