August 1968: Hemion brothers, Whit and Dave, members of Western Washington U men’s basketball team which toured/played games for six weeks
=Whit died (plane crash) in
1978 at age 31.
=Dave died (heart attack) in
2020 at age 62.
In August 1968 the Western Washington U (Bellingham, Wash.) Vikings men's basketball team went on a six-week tour of the Far East and Australia. Whit Hemion and brother Dave Hemion, both Lakes High School grads and former basketball players for the Lakes Lancers, were players on the WWU team.
Team wearing sports coats -- Front Row (L-R): Assistant coach Marv Ainsworth, Ben Smith, Ron Caderette, Dave Hemion, Mike Clayton, Neal Larson, Doris Randall. Back Row (L-R): Whit Hemion, Blaine Johnson, Ed Monk, Gary Reiersgard, John Reed, Jimmy Jones, Paul Hallgrimson, Head Coach Chuck Randall.
Black & white action photo with photo corners cropped -- Dave Hemion, Jimmy Jones and Ed Monk.
Small color photo -- Paul Hallgrimson, Ed Monk, Whit Hemion (with yellow scarf), Dave Hemion (light blue shirt) and Gary Reiersgard.
Large color photo -- Dave Hemion, John Reed, Whit Hemion, Gary Reiersgard and Mike Clayton
Story text included: In Taipei, Taiwan, WWU played and won four games. The players did a lot of shopping. "… Whit (Hemion) bought 19 (music on phonograph records) albums for eight dollars (pirated copies). He thought he had (the albums) concealed but when he went through customs they found them. He was a little worried but they let him keep them with no penalty."
