Thursday night, I learned that I lost one of my best friends and an old Gulf Breeze High School teammate, Mort Deer.
Mort died from cancer, two years to the day after my dad passed away. July 30 will never be the same again.
While I'm sad about Mort's passing, my heart is filled with joy in the friendship we shared and so many wonderful memories of youth.
Mort was a 120-pound wide receiver for Gulf Breeze's football team and a sprinter and long jumper on the Dolphin track team. He had his share of races and long-jump battles against Baker legend Houston McTear.
Mort, who graduated in 1975, also ran track and played football at Crestview High School's Jack Foster Stadium.
When Mort graduated, he held the Gulf Breeze record in the long jump and was on a couple of record-setting Dolphin relay teams.
His 90-yard interception return for a touchdown at Port St. Joe might still be a Dolphin record.
Back in the day, when the dangers of tobacco use were often overlooked or ignored, Mort was known as “Redman” because that was his favorite brand of chewing tobacco. Mort even kept a pouch of tobacco in the top of his football helmet, and was known to chew during practice and games.
Mort was from Pineapple, Ala., and his parents had roots in Stockton, Ala., in north Baldwin County.
He enjoyed Baldwin County's great outdoors and abundant hunting and fishing opportunities.
He was that rare person who made everybody feel like his best friend. And I'm blessed to say our friendship went beyond those he had with many of his other bests.
Mort was a great teammate on the field and in the locker room. He could pick his teammates up with a quick word of encouragement or his easy smile.
He ran the 40-yard dash 4.5 seconds when a 4.5 was considered to be really moving. Mort once had a scout from Auburn University tell him he had the hands and speed to play wide receiver in the Southeastern Conference if he had weighed 150 pounds.
Mort is at peace now because he had a relationship with Jesus Christ. I believe he has a new body that is whole and strong once again.
If I know Mort like I think I do, I’m sure he’s challenging some of the angels in Heaven to a race in the 100-yard dash. And I can see Mort giving those celestial beings a quick wink as he runs past them in his heavenly body.
I will miss Mort Deer and the relationship we shared, but I'm blessed to have been his teammate and even more so to have called him friend.
Email randyd@crestviewbulletin.com, tweet @cnb_sports or call 682-6524 to contact Randy Dickson.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: DICKSON: Saying goodbye to a friend