Alice D. Mayberry, of Levittown, died on Feb. 22, 1998. Wife of the late Elwood. Mother of Ann Robbi Joseph and James Mayberry. Grandmother of nine. Great-grandmother of three. Stepdaughter of Genevieve Wakefield. Sister of Patricia Wandling, John Scott and Richard Wakefield. Arrangements were made by the Charles J. O'Shea Funeral Home, Wantagh. Funeral Mass at St. James RC Church. Interment St. Charles Cemetery. Donations can be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, LI Island Chapter, 200 Parkway Dr. South, Hauppauge, NY 11788. Marcella M. Harris, 75, of Levittown, died on Feb. 23, 1998. Wife of John. Mother of Monica DeLuca, John and Christopher Harris. Grandmother of Shannon, Brian, Chris, Erica, Robert, Vikki, Samantha and Adrienne. Arrangements were made by Moloney's Hauppauge Funeral Home. Funeral Mass at St. Philip and St. James RC Church. Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Donations can be made to the American Lung Association or the American Heart Association.

The game ended too soon for Elliott Velez.

I know that a baseball metaphor cannot capture the meaning of Elliott's life or its tragic end. Of course, there was more to Elliott besides baseball. But that was so much a part of his life that I cannot separate the two. I keep thinking I will see him on the field again, the game still early, the future still bright.

Those are terms by which many of us will remember him.

Elliott Velez died last month. But this story is not about the how and the why, such a private matter is better left to his family. This is about the happiness he spread in the 31 years shared with us.

Although I had not seen him in some time, I still considered Elliott my friend. When you walk the same streets, play in the same parks and attend the same high school, you develop a bond that time and distance cannot break.

I was proud to count Elliott among my friends. Yet, it was an even greater privilege to have called him a teammate. We played baseball in different youth leagues together, the last time was in the summer of 1983 when he and I played for the Levittown Giants at the Connie Mack level. His nephew, Will Arroyo, was also on that team and they were an imposing tandem, either in the outfield or on the base paths.

After that summer Elliott would become the leadoff batter and starting centerfielder for Division Avenue High School's 1984 New York State Championship team. A season later he played for Nassau Community College and helped them reach the Junior College World Series.

There were generations of friends and teammates at Dalton Funeral Home last month to say goodbye to Elliott. His entire baseball life was represented in that room - from Mr. Joe Rogers, who umpired our Levittown West Little League games, to Mr. Doug Robins, the varsity coach at Division.

John Dell'aria, another longtime friend and teammate, eulogized Elliott at the funeral Mass. And Chris Falcco, also a member of Division's championship team, remembered him as, "the most talented guy on our team."

Elliott played baseball the way every kid should play the game - with a smile. He played hard and he played to win, but most importantly he played because he loved baseball. The enduring image of Elliott that I will lock away in my vault of memories is one of him standing at second base, his huge grin lighting up the field because he had just driven another double into the left-centerfield gap.

Somewhere in Levittown there should be a baseball field named after Elliott Velez. Not because he was a gifted baseball player, but because his life was a gift to those of us who knew him.

It is a gift I will always cherish.