Stu Lantz still carries the press pass, tucked safely in his wallet, wherever he goes.
It has Chick Hearn's name and smiling face on it, and was given to the Lakers TV analyst after the team's play-by-play announcer died in 2002.
The press pass was in a box of Hearn's belongings that his wife, Marge, handed Lantz at the time. She died Saturday night of natural causes at age 98, bringing a flood of memories to Lantz and the Lakers.
"To lose both of them now, it's going to be a different era as far as 'What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of the Lakers?