This is the time of year that would have grabbed John D'Urso's attention. The Boys and Girls Byrn's Junior Masters and the Old Timers' Tournament are running this month.

D'Urso was a longtime certified junior bowling coach who always took an interest in the kids. And for two decades he helped run the annual Old Timers' event, which benefited the American Heart Association.

Perhaps that's ironic, because D'Urso, indeed, had a big heart. A gentle man, he died Feb. 1 at the age of 88.

“He was a great guy, the type of guy who was an asset at whatever he was involved with,” said Don Martino, who operated Cayuga Lanes. “He was everybody's idea of what a father or grandfather should be like, don't you think? He was the type of guy you wanted to be associated with.”

Martino arrived at Cayuga Lanes in 1969, and his long friendship with D'Urso began immediately.

“I think John might have been there before I was, but he was so easy to get along with that I felt like I'd known him forever,” he said. “He was fantastic teaching the kids.”

Tom Ostrander, also a bowling coach, was close to D'Urso for 30 years. He credited D'Urso with developing some of the top bowlers in Auburn, including Steve Suslik, Benny Appleby and Jeff Lumb.

“John was a wonderful, caring man with a great love for the sport of bowling and kids,” he said.

Lumb remembered D'Urso as “a very patient man to learn from, and a lot of fun to bowl with.”

D'Urso was inducted into the Auburn Bowling Hall of Fame in 1982 for Meritorious Service, and soon after took control of the Old Timers' Tournament with his best friend, Joe Carbone. They hustled around to get door prizes from area merchants.

In recent years the event, at one time a big draw, has seen its entries shrink to between 40 and 60 players. Still, D'Urso never took lightly the modest $160 or so annually that was raised for the cause.

“We always get a thank-you letter from the heart association,” he said in 2004. “I bring it to the tournament the following year so people can read it.”

Carbone died the following year and D'Urso gave way to current tournament director Clint Symonds. Martino kept in touch with D'Urso through the years. At one time they each had season tickets to Syracuse University football games. D'Urso sat with his wife, Josephine, while Martino's seat was close by.

“We'd give each other a thumbs up when Syracuse would score,” Martino said. “And we would chat, talking about common friends and bowlers. He was a real gentleman.”

The two men had one last conversation in November at the Hall of Fame bowling dinner. Martino was sitting toward the front of The Sunset restaurant's crowded banquet room but made it a point to pay a visit to his friend, tucked into a table near the back.

“We didn't get into the good old days,” Martino said. “There were so many people there and we didn't have much time together. It was just small talk.

“But I'm so glad I saw him. If ever there was a guy you wanted to put on your list of friends, John was the one.”