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Welcome to the memorial page for
Warren "Sonny" Vens
July 24, 1932 ~ June 2, 2017 (age 84) 84 Years Old Light a Candle
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Message from Steve Clingan
January 20, 2018 4:44 PM
I just heard of Sonny's passing and wanted to get in touch with you Joyce.You were such a good friend.I often thought of you and Sonny over the years.I played tennis with Cookie and I see by the obit that he is also still with us.I visited Sonny at the club years ago and he quickly showed me how the game should be played.You may even remember me stopping at your hose off Mahoning and playing there.Of all my friends from Warren I still remember you,so fondly .Please reply to my note and say hello to Cookie.
Message from Chuck and Linda Fabian
June 11, 2017 8:57 AM
Mrs. Vens, Kreig and family,
We're so sorry for your loss. Sonny was always friendly and upbeat whenever we saw him. Our thoughts are with you.
We're so sorry for your loss. Sonny was always friendly and upbeat whenever we saw him. Our thoughts are with you.
Message from Mark Finamore
June 9, 2017 10:25 PM
Dear Joyce, Krieg and family. You have my prayers , condolences and sympathy on the loss of your beloved "Sonny". He was a remarkable man who was kind and gentle and loved by all that knew him, he will be sadly missed. Please take solace in knowing that he is at peace in the comfort of God's hands at a home most worthy of his life's journey a life well lived. RIP
Message from Carl & Edith Ritch
June 7, 2017 10:01 PM
Joyce & family:
So sorry to hear of your loss of "Sonny". You are in our thoughts and prayers.
He was a great tennis player and person.
Our sincere sympathy to you and your family.
Carl & Edith Ritch
So sorry to hear of your loss of "Sonny". You are in our thoughts and prayers.
He was a great tennis player and person.
Our sincere sympathy to you and your family.
Carl & Edith Ritch
Message from j Brown
June 7, 2017 6:34 AM
Dear family. Please accept my condolence. Please know that Jehovah God understands your personal grief and promises to provide you the comfort you so sorely need at this time. The bible says "God is near to the brokenhearted and those crushed in spirit"(Psalms 34:18-19)jw.org
Message from Don Piltz
June 5, 2017 7:25 PM
One of my fondest memories as a kid in the 50's was to walk into SportLand to browse. Every kid loved SportLand! There were no malls back then...SportLand was it for athletic equipment. Sonny always had a smile for us whether we bought anything or not.
I worked at the YMCA and saw quite a lot of Sonny and brother Ray (Cookie).
Sonny always saw "the glass as half full, not half empty", one of the friendliest people I ever met. I learned a great deal more about him from this obit...great athlete, great guy!
I worked at the YMCA and saw quite a lot of Sonny and brother Ray (Cookie).
Sonny always saw "the glass as half full, not half empty", one of the friendliest people I ever met. I learned a great deal more about him from this obit...great athlete, great guy!
Message from Hilton Head Island, SC
June 5, 2017 8:08 AM
My deepest thoughts and prayers for all of the Vens family. While Sonny was a great ambassador for the game of tennis, I learned so much more from this man I admired greatly. I began working with the Vens family at Valhalla in the summer of 1976. While I started to play tennis 2 years earlier, this job was all about paying my dues to the game I loved the most. 6am to clean the locker rooms, scrubbing toilets and showers and then on to cutting grass or whatever else Sonny had on his mind for that day.
Valhalla was Sonny's dream. To this day, I have never seen anyone work as hard as Sonny did to make his dream a reality and THE place to play tennis. I would often find him asleep at the end of the day in one of the lounge chairs at the club. He gave everything to that club. I still tell Sonny Vens stories of the life lessons he taught to me. A couple of my favorites include:
The summer Barry Shultz and I helped Sonny build the 2 outdoor red clay courts at Valhalla. The entire summer (or it seemed like it) Barry and I dug a 6 foot deep trench with a pick and shovel, 120 feet long. At the end of the summer as Barry and I were about to head back to school, Sonny told us as only he could, you know, I could have rented a backhoe and done this in one day but I wanted to build character in you two. Well guess what? It worked!!
One of the other lessons I learned was tennis related as well as life related. The water at Valhalla came from a well and definitely should we say was an acquired taste. As Barry and I became better tennis players, Sonny would often hit with us on the clay courts between our 2 shifts. One of us would start at 6am and the other would come in at 3. We would all hit between 3 and 4. As he would be drop shoting, lobbing and angling us off the court, we would be dieing of thirst and the well water was our only choice. We would take a drink and say "this water is aweful". Sonny would immediately counter with "I love this water". If the wind was blowing, we might say how much we hated the wind. Sonny's response, "I love the wind". And this was his response to any of the elements that might come into play as we were hitting. While these elements were the same for all players, he taught us that the ones that would accept what is given would stand a much better chance of winning the match (and life). I have won many tennis matches and many of life's trials and tribulations with his advice.
One day, the dyer stopped working. Sonny says, "let's take it apart." Sonny did not like to spend money! I say, "what do you know about fixing a dryer?" "Nothing", he says, "but it has to be fixed anyway." To this day, I dive into whatever needs to be fixed whether it is at my home or tennis facility.
While I continue to share Sonny stories wherever I go, I do not believe I would have ended up in the tennis business if it were not for the Vens family. "Mr. Tennis" is an understatement for what he did for our area in terms of growing the game of tennis. I have been fortunate to live my life in the tennis business being in Hilton Head Island for 31 years. I would not have gotten where I am today in both my life and career without Sonny Vens. He was quite a guy.
Valhalla was Sonny's dream. To this day, I have never seen anyone work as hard as Sonny did to make his dream a reality and THE place to play tennis. I would often find him asleep at the end of the day in one of the lounge chairs at the club. He gave everything to that club. I still tell Sonny Vens stories of the life lessons he taught to me. A couple of my favorites include:
The summer Barry Shultz and I helped Sonny build the 2 outdoor red clay courts at Valhalla. The entire summer (or it seemed like it) Barry and I dug a 6 foot deep trench with a pick and shovel, 120 feet long. At the end of the summer as Barry and I were about to head back to school, Sonny told us as only he could, you know, I could have rented a backhoe and done this in one day but I wanted to build character in you two. Well guess what? It worked!!
One of the other lessons I learned was tennis related as well as life related. The water at Valhalla came from a well and definitely should we say was an acquired taste. As Barry and I became better tennis players, Sonny would often hit with us on the clay courts between our 2 shifts. One of us would start at 6am and the other would come in at 3. We would all hit between 3 and 4. As he would be drop shoting, lobbing and angling us off the court, we would be dieing of thirst and the well water was our only choice. We would take a drink and say "this water is aweful". Sonny would immediately counter with "I love this water". If the wind was blowing, we might say how much we hated the wind. Sonny's response, "I love the wind". And this was his response to any of the elements that might come into play as we were hitting. While these elements were the same for all players, he taught us that the ones that would accept what is given would stand a much better chance of winning the match (and life). I have won many tennis matches and many of life's trials and tribulations with his advice.
One day, the dyer stopped working. Sonny says, "let's take it apart." Sonny did not like to spend money! I say, "what do you know about fixing a dryer?" "Nothing", he says, "but it has to be fixed anyway." To this day, I dive into whatever needs to be fixed whether it is at my home or tennis facility.
While I continue to share Sonny stories wherever I go, I do not believe I would have ended up in the tennis business if it were not for the Vens family. "Mr. Tennis" is an understatement for what he did for our area in terms of growing the game of tennis. I have been fortunate to live my life in the tennis business being in Hilton Head Island for 31 years. I would not have gotten where I am today in both my life and career without Sonny Vens. He was quite a guy.
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