Neither rain nor snow, pelting hail nor crashing lighting, biting cold nor scorching heat kept him away from the games and pep rallies.

Nor did he forsake his beloved Warren County Pioneers when many others were discouraged and burdened with doubts.

Charles Arsa LaDonn Ingalls, known to thousands by his nickname Slim, will be sadly missed at the games henceforth. The indomitable Pioneers fan passed away Tuesday evening at NHC Healthcare of McMinnville.

The Elk City, OK native and longtime McMinnville resident was 78.

“Slim was the most positive fan I was ever around. He was there no matter what,” said longtime friend Steve Harvey, a member of the McMinnville Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

Harvey and others who knew him well praised Ingalls as the steady, unwavering pillar bolstering the sprits of players and fans, even when the scoreboard was frowning on the home team.

“He was best known for telling players to ‘believe in yourself.’ There is no better advice than that,” Harvey said.

Ingalls was a fixture, regular and expected, at basketball, baseball, softball and soccer contests. The very few times he missed, his absence was noted.

Fans speculated that he had fallen ill or was involved in a serious accident. There had to be an insurmountable obstacle.

“They [my players] were concerned if he wasn’t there. They definitely noticed,” Shea Panter, former Lady Pioneers basketball coach, shared with the Southern Standard.

Shouting encouragement, or just being present, he was an inspiration to the basketball team, Panter, now director of Federal Programs Administration for the Warren County Schools.

Ingalls didn’t have a car, but he had willing legs and a strong heart for his favorite teams, whether at Warren County High School or Morrison Elementary.

He would set out walking from his home on Locust Street but townspeople and Pioneers fans delighted in pulling over and offering him a ride. The drivers always knew where Slim was going.

He was regular rider in Harvey’s 1994 Ford F250 heavy duty pickup. When the odometer on the well-worn truck was about roll up to 500,000 miles, Ingalls was in a celebratory mood.

“He anticipated that half-million-mile [event] more than I did.” It was moment of joy and brotherhood with supporters of Warren County school sports.

“I’ve known Slim since I was a teenager,” said Todd Willmore, athletic director for Warren County Schools from 2009 to 2022 and veteran of coaching WCHS girls soccer.

“He was a regular at our soccer games.” But his dedication and ardor continued long past the whistle signaling the end of play.

“I would get a call from him at 2 in the morning. He was always encouraging.”

Coaches and players are familiar with the ups and down of competition. Ingalls seemed to have special empathy for those on the downside of the cycle.

“His timing was perfect when he called or wrote notes he mailed to me. He seemed to know when I needed some encouragement,” Willmore remembered.

“Slim always had a kind heart. He wanted the best for the teams and the players.”

“People would say they would walk a mile to show their allegiance or support for this or that. Slim would walk many, many miles to show up for our games, for church functions or other community events,” said Patricia Zechman. recently retired as publisher of The Southern Standard and a veteran observer of the local sports scene.

“He was unquestionably the biggest supporter of our student athletes and their schools, as well as many other programs that have been the foundation and energy of our community life in Warren County,” she added.Funeral arrangements are detailed in the obituary in today’s Southern Standard on page 3A.