Wray Morrison: A big loss

Family members and friends of nine people are feeling a sense of loss that many of us will never realize.

Sunday’s highly publicized west coast helicopter crash that claimed the life of NBA legend Kobe Bryant has left scars that will seldom be talked about.

Pilot Ara Zobayan was a mentor of his own. He was an “instrument-rated pilot,” which is a level of qualification beyond most pilots. Like an elite athlete passing on knowledge of their craft, Zobayan helped those who had a dream to pilot helicopters.

Zobayan didn’t appear on national television from week to week. His name likely won’t hang on a banner from a rafter of an arena. I didn’t know his name until Sunday. He wasn’t in line to give a Hall of Fame speech.

Fifty-six-year-old baseball coach John Altobelli, no doubt, made a difference in the lives of many as well.

Daughters, mothers, fathers, mentors and friends were all lost on Sunday, along with an NBA legend.