Robert Savoie
Born on Feb. 27, 1936 in Central Falls, R.I., Savoie was proceeded in death by his loving wife, Arlene Nave, of 59 years, and is survived by their three daughters, four grandchildren, six great grandchildren and their four step-grandchildren.
He and his family’s love for sports and athletics introduced Savoie to the world of softball in 1970 where he began his career with the Amateur Softball Association as an umpire. Serving the sport in Hawaii, Nebraska and Maryland along with being assigned to ASA tournaments all over the country, he eventually became the ASA Chief Umpire for the Washington D.C. area from 1978-1990.
From there, Savoie was selected as the ASA Chief Umpire for the Central AtlanticRegion from 1996-2006, earning his spot in the ASA National Softball Hall ofFame.
Growing up, Savoie attended St. Matthew’s Parochial School, graduating fromAssumption High School in Worcester, Mass., enlisting in the Army in 1953. Heserved for 20-plus years and retired as a Master Sergeant after serving inoverseas tours in Morocco, Puerto Rico and Hawaii as a weather observer andforecaster.
After his retirement from the Army, Savoie worked with Informatics Inc. inRockville, Md., and with the National Weather Service as a computer specialist,retiring in 1994 with close to 40 years of federal service.
Savoie and Arlene married in 1958, welcoming their three daughters – Deborah,Donna and Diane – along with grandchildren, Bridgette, Kelly, Trevor andNatalie, along with great grandchildren Audrey, Matthew, Owen, Addison, Caroline,Isla, Kyle, Ashley, Kennedy, Tanner, Nolan and Claire.
Bob Savoie spent more than 20 years in the Air Force as a weatherman before retiring in 1974 and couldn’t have forecast his eventual induction into the National Softball Hall of Fame, November 17, 2005 in Tucson, AZ. In fact, Savoie said,”When I started umpiring in Hawaii (1969), I probably didn’t know where the ASA Hall of Fame was located.
After my appointment to the Metro DC UIC position and I became more familiar with the ASA, I would walk through the Hall and marvel at the accomplishments of the members, some I knew and got to know through the years. The fact that I am now one of them boggles my mind. I never in my wildest fantasies believe that this would happen to me. “Election to the Hall of Fame,” continued Savoie, “is the capstone of a satisfying career that could have easily ended without this great honor.
The fact that my career and contributions were recognized and rewarded is far beyond my wildest expectations.” Savoie can thank his wife, Arlene, for getting him into umpiring when they lived in Honolulu. She sent him across the street to a neighbor’s house to borrow a screwdriver. “We were hanging the drapes in the living room, so I went to borrow one (screwdriver) from a neighbor,” said Savoie.”Turns out he (the neighbor) is president of the Little League Association. I came back with a black and white striped shirt and a rule book. That was it.”
After retiring from the Air Force, Savoie and his family moved to the Washington, D.C. area where he joined the Greater Washington Umpires’ Association and served as the association UIC from 1977-1983.
In 1978, Savoie was appointed Washington D.C. UIC and served in that position until March of 1990 when he was named to ASA National Umpire staff, representing Region Three (Central Atlantic).
He replaced Henry Pollard after Pollard was named ASA deputy director of umpires in 1989.
During his career, Savoie umpired two Central Atlantic Regionals, and four ASA nationals (Men’s A SP, 1976. Men’s Armed Forces SP, 1979; Men’s Major Modified Pitch, 1980 and Men’s Major Fast Pitch, 1981). In 1987, he was selected to umpire the ISF Junior Girls’ World Championship in Oklahoma City. In 1984, Savoie earned his ISF certification in slow pitch and is a member of the Greater Washington Slow Pitch and Fast Pitch Halls of Fame, the only person to achieve this recognition.
In 1987, Savoie was inducted as a charter member of the National Indicator Fraternity.
Bob is a member of the Indiana (1994), Tidewater, VA (2002) and Pennsylvania (2003) ASA Halls of Fame. Savoie has been an instructor at more than 20 national umpire schools and 13 advanced schools.
