The Tribune Democrat, Johnstown, PA

Local News

August 6, 2009

Pittsburgh shooting: UPJ grad among victims

When George Sodini unleashed his violent frustrations on women exercising Tuesday night at a Pittsburgh health club, he took the life of a Pitt-Johnstown graduate and star basketball player.

Jody R. Billingsley, 37, of Mount Lebanon, was a 1994 cum laude graduate with a degree in biology.

She was part of back-to-back regional Lady Cat championship teams and still is ranked 21st all-time with 515 career rebounds.

“We are deeply saddened to learn that we have lost one of our Pitt-Johnstown alumni family,” university President Jem Spectar said Wednesday in a statement. “Today, Jody is being remembered across campus as an exemplary student and caring individual, who was highly regarded by both her professors and classmates. After graduation, she remained an active alumna, enjoying a successful career in the health-care industry and making a positive difference in her community. We extend our deepest condolences to her family and friends.”

Jodi Gault of Oil City, who retired after coaching UPJ women’s basketball for 25 years, was Billingsley’s former coach and a friend.

The two hailed from the same area in Franklin County and met when Gault taught a YMCA camp. The eighth-grader made an impression on the coach who recruited her out of high school.

“She was a great kid on the court and a great kid off the court,” Gault said.

Despite the years that had passed, the former player and coach kept in touch.

“I just spoke to her last week,” Gault said. “She called for my birthday.”

Billingsley was loyal to her alma mater and the basketball program.

“She was one of the kids who always came back for every alumni event,” her former coach said.

Gault said Billingsley returned to campus in April for the induction of her former teammate, Mindy Young-Gagliardi, into the Pitt-Johnstown Athletics Hall of Fame.

“Her teammates are devastated,” Gault said.

“Some of them were vacationing together at Hilton Head, N.C., and they are flying back. That is what she meant to them.”

Chris Stumpf of Davidsville, UPJ chief of staff, remembered his former classmate and friend.

“She was an excellent student and a really genuinely nice person,” he said. “She was incredibly driven and worked very hard at athletics and academics.”

Her former coach recalled an incident in Billingsley’s senior year that exemplified her determined spirit.

While visiting her family during Christmas, the star player was in a traffic accident and struck her face on the steering wheel.

“Her face was unbelievable,” Gault said.

“But she had clearance from a doctor and wanted to play.”

The injuries were so severe that one of her teammates got sick when she saw Billingsley.

But Billingsley refused to be sidelined.

“I am playing,” she told her coach. “You can mask me, but I’m not missing a game.”

Gault said the news of the tragedy was hard to believe.

“We lost a good one,” she said. “We’re going to miss her.”

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News
  • Game, humane groups offer $5K in bald eagle death

    The Pennsylvania Game Commission and The Humane Society of the United States are offering more than $5,000 for information on whoever fatally shot a bald eagle in Cambria County earlier this month.

    May 22, 2013

  • School, council, supervisors races draw voters

    Area voters took to the polls Tuesday to cast their ballots, with many saying school board and council or supervisors races were the driving force that brought them out.

    May 22, 2013

  • primary voter Incumbents advance: 5 candidates in city cross-file for victory

    Five incumbents cross-filed, as Democrats and Republicans, and entered races for both four- and two-year seats on the Greater Johnstown school board.
    Nobody else appeared on any ballot.

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • Patton will get another mayor

    Patton, in a resounding upset, will have a new mayor, and all four incumbents in the Penn Cambria school board race will remain at their posts.

    May 22, 2013

  • election_22 Split decision: Each group has two winners on City Council

    Democratic Party voters offered a split decision between the two groups of Johnstown City Council candidates that campaigned against each other in this year’s primary.

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

  • Richland Township supervisor defeated in GOP primary

    One three-term incumbent led all candidates, but another was defeated in the Republican primary for two Richland Township supervisor seats.

    May 22, 2013

  • Familiar faces in Richland

    Three incumbent Richland Township school board members and a newcomer won nominations for four slots on both primary ballots Tuesday, virtually eliminating a ballot contest in the November election.

    May 22, 2013

  • Windber selects Pekala

    Windber Borough apparently will have a new mayor.

    May 22, 2013

  • Hilltop group sweeps

    Four of the five candidates supported by CEASE, a citizens group with a motto of fighting tax increases in the Westmont Hilltop School District while protecting education, won the four-year seats available in the identical order on both the Republican and Democratic tickets Tuesday.

    May 22, 2013

  • NC vote 3 incumbents feel N.C. wrath

    Voters in the Northern Cambria School District spoke loudly in Tuesday’s primary election, as three of the four incumbents failed to earn the Democrat or Republican nomination.

    May 22, 2013 1 Photo

Poll

Do we have too many economic development agencies in our area?

Yes, they end up fighting over the same money
No, our region needs all of the help it can get
I'm not sure
     View Results
AP Video
Raw: New Video of Deadly Oklahoma Tornado IRS Official Pleads 5th Amendment Lawyer: Feds Investigating Susan Powell Case Former Rep. Weiner Running for New York Mayor Jodi Arias: Death Penalty Would Cause More Pain Police Ram House to End Hostage Standoff Families Begin Returning to Their Homes in Moore Raw: Aerial View of Moore Tornado Damage Looking for Love? Take the Prague Metro First Person: Baby Falcons on a New York Bridge Crews Race to Find Survivors of Okla. Twister Oklahoma: Images of Devastation, Reunion Raw: Students Clash With Police in Chile Protests Outside Cincinnati IRS Office New Xbox One Entertainment Console Unveiled
Community Calendar
Loading…
Events by eviesays.com
House Ads
Hyperlocal Search
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide