It was just a recreational softball league. Our team, representing the company we worked for, HMSA, didn’t approach it that way. We were expected to win the Financial League championship every year in the 1990s, and we often did.

Rick Botelho was our leadoff batter and second baseman and the heart of the team. He was one of those guys who made everyone around him better. He fired everybody up. You didn’t want to let him down.

And he was one of the fellas who would stick around the longest afterward, as we emptied the coolers of adult beverages, recounting the game and talking about next week’s. We shared a lot of good times. He was a friend and a great teammate.

As the years went by, though, Rick started leaving the park earlier. Although the same competitive, fiery guy on the field, he no longer led the postgame festivities.

Priorities.

Rick’s eldest son, Ryne, was starting to play ball, and he devoted his time to coaching him.

There were other reasons. Ones I only learned of recently.

Rick was an excellent computer programmer and was in the National Guard. But he found a higher calling and became a pastor at New Hope. I was surprised when I learned of this a few years ago.

Now, when I watch videos of his sermons it’s easy to see that is what he was born to do.

He got remarried and his wife, Racie, gave birth to twin boys, in 2007.

Just 21⁄2 weeks after Rustyn and Rycen were born, Racie suffered a stroke.

Then, in 2010, after complaining of stomach pains, Rick was diagnosed with neuroendocrine carcinoma. For two years medication kept the cancer under control.

"He was thankful he could still preach every Sunday and continue with his normal routine," Racie said.

But the cancer spread quickly in early 2013. Rick died on Feb. 10, seven months after his 50th birthday.

I’d left HMSA in 1998, and hadn’t seen Rick since. Our lives went in different directions, that’s the easy excuse. But it’s a lousy one, and something I will always regret.

On Friday, I got to meet Racie, Rustyn and Rycen, because we have a common friend we all wanted to see before he and his family leave Hawaii next week.

Rustyn and Rycen are 7 and just completed first grade. They play baseball and soccer. I can tell they are going to be great ballplayers like their dad.

Their mom still has disabilities associated with the stroke. But Racie Botelho is an unstoppable powerhouse of strength. She has help from family and friends, which she appreciates. But there are no signs of self-pity, no why-me attitude. She says others have it worse than she does.

Racie is already teaching her young children to serve others. They are among the Cub Scouts placing lei and flags on graves at Punchbowl on Sunday. My father is buried there, so I thanked Rustyn and Rycen.

Some people get bent out of shape about what Memorial Day is supposed to represent. Rick Botelho didn’t die in a war. But he served his country and his community. His positive legacy is among those I will spend Monday reflecting upon.

Reach Star-Advertiser sports columnist Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com, his “Quick Reads” blog at hawaiiwarriorworld.com and on twiter as @dave_reardon.