Larry Fudge (left) coaching Shohei Fujita during football. Fujita later stayed with Fudge and his family as an exchange student, becoming another son to them, according to Fudge's wife Melissa. (Supplied)

By Alessia Proietti

Larry Fudge, 37

Local football community mourns loss of “central Alberta’s football dad”

Aug 18, 2022 | 12:40 PM

The central Alberta football community is grieving a loss since the passing of long-time dedicated volunteer Larry Fudge.

Known and admired as central Alberta’s football dad, the Red Deer County resident died at 37-years-old on August 7 while visiting his family in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“He was a very stand-up guy. The character that he was impressing on the young men and women that he coached probably speaks more than anything,” said Geoff Rambaut, Head Coach of the Central Alberta Buccaneers and Sylvan Lake Lions (Bantam).

“When you have a guy who volunteers that many years and that many hours to mold and shape young children, I think that’s as impactful as anything.”

Larry volunteered for the Buccaneers and was a coach for various teams including Lindsay Thurber High School, the Dome’s football school, Prairie Fire Midget Football Club, and other bantam teams.

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Rambaut says Larry was indiscriminate of players’ athletic abilities and had a gift for helping kids who struggled to fit in and build a bond.

Wife Melissa Fudge says her husband loved everyone and the feeling was mutual.

“I actually received a message the other day saying ‘I wouldn’t be where I was today if it wasn’t for you and Larry, Melissa. I’m going to make him proud’,” she said. “He’s left quite a legacy in football and he’ll never be forgotten for that.”

Having trouble finding the words, she described her husband as a happy-go-lucky man who did everything for his four boys: Dominic, 19, Blake, 17, Kaleb, 13, and Daxtyn, 11.

(L-R) Blake, Larry, Dextyn, Melissa, Kaleb, and Dominic (Supplied)

Never having played football himself, Melissa says it was when their first-born joined a team six years ago that Larry began his involvement with the sport and never took a pause after that.

Melissa believes it was the culture of brotherhood that drew her husband to the sport, and it showed, when he treated each child as his own with an open door policy.

“He was like a second dad to most people and he was a great friend to all of the rest. I want people to remember him by the person they could turn to when they needed help or anything. He would take the clothes off his back for someone to have it on theirs,” said Dominic.

The mother and son shared memories of their home becoming the designated football house for gatherings and meet-ups for game transportation, sometimes Melissa giving up her car seat so Larry could drive a player to practice.

Melissa says teammates would pop over to confide in Larry when struggling in their personal lives.

Dominic remembers throwing a Halloween house party for the team as Larry ensured each parent at the door that he would keep their kids safe.

And Larry’s compassionate, life-of-the-party character carried beyond the football community. Melissa says an overwhelming amount of messages have been pouring in from people who he has impacted, some including a former exchange student that stayed with the family and even a bartender from a previous cruise trip to Mexico that Larry instantly built a connection with.

His wife says he was always there for others, even while he was struggling with his own health concerns.

Larry Fudge (Supplied)

Battling a heart condition and scheduled for surgery in September, Larry went on a family trip with his brother and parents to Newfoundland. Although Melissa says he was feeling fine, he did not come home due to an unknown and unexpected cause. She says it was “his last hooray” as throughout the trip he had a blast, sending pictures with his signature smile.

And that is how he will be remembered, says Todd Lewis, Head Coach for the Ponoka Broncs bantam football team and player for the senior Buccaneers.

Having coached with Larry for the Raw Program, a football camp across Alberta, he says Larry was a massive volunteer in the community who always took initiative.

“When Larry was volunteering, there was nowhere else he wanted to be. He loved helping out and contributing to something bigger than himself,” he said.

“He always had a grin on his face and always making jokes and one of those glue guys within a group because that’s what you need to create an atmosphere of welcoming fun and light.”

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help Melissa with the costs of bringing Larry home and for the funeral. As of Thursday, the page has raised $5,325 out of their $10,000 goal.

A Facebook memorial page has also been created with over 450 members posting heartfelt messages.

“Larry’s Friday Night Lights” memorial will also be held August 19 at 5 p.m. at the Dome (334 Energy Way). Expecting over 600 people and livestreamed for family across Canada, Melissa says she wants to give everyone who loved her husband the opportunity to say goodbye in the place he loved the most: the football field.