WSAR editorial: Skip Karam left his mark on the Durfee record books, but more importantly, on the young athletes he coached and mentored

WSAR EDITORIAL

THOMAS “SKIP” KARAM

IN MEMORIAM

Fall River, MA – Today we pause to remember Thomas “Skip” Karam. A man who lived a long and meaningful life.

A life filled with accolades and achievements which are forever memorialized in the annals of Durfee basketball. The winning seasons, the championships, the banners now hanging in the Thomas “Skip” Karam Basketball Court at BMC Durfee High School, or the annual Thomas “Skip” Karam Holiday Tournament. All incredible achievements, no doubt.

Skip Karam certainly left his indelible mark on the BMC Durfee basketball record books, but more importantly, he left his mark on the young athletes he coached and mentored for more than three decades.

He created a legacy of pride and achievement, winning, and sportsmanship, character and integrity… that even his earliest players still carry with them today, decades removed from their high school basketball careers.

If you ask any student athlete who played for Skip Karam what they treasure most about their time under his mentorship, they’ll tell you it was his instilling pride in their hometown team, and the idea that no matter who they played, no matter where they played, the Durfee Hilltoppers COULD win! He taught those young athletes that hard work, commitment, and dedication were the keys to not only winning basketball games, but to succeeding in life as well. A man who, many years after retirement, still remembered the names of athletes, and not just Durfee athletes by the way, and returned a “hi coach” with a quick response by name and a sincere inquiry as to how they were doing in life.

It isn’t often that a man born to ordinary circumstances will rise to live a life which leaves a legacy as profound as the legacy Skip Karam has left.

We at WSAR express our deepest condolences to the family of Thomas “Skip” Karam, and we hope the many who loved him will take comfort in knowing that he will be revered by all who had the opportunity to learn from him.