George Houston spent a lot of time in the gym at Yadaa.at Kale Juneau Douglas High School during his life, first as a student in the 1960s before becoming an instructor of gyms and later for a period of 30 years as an basketball coach.
The death occurred in October. In December the facility was named for his name. On Monday, at a memorial some former players and family members were present to celebrate his legacy.
Teenagers in groups sat with their peers at the bleachers. Adults were seated in folding chairs in the court. All wore school colors, red and black.
Every day, people who adored George Houston told stories about George Houston. As did the former Olympian also NBA athlete, Carlos Boozer Jr.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”Outside of my family, Coach was the first person who believed in me.” Boozer told the crowd. “I was obsessed with basketball. I had a conversation with someone who had an obsession with basketball that was insane. .”
Boozer stated that Houston would leave messages on his phone throughout his NBA game.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”He’d be thinking”Great performance, 25, points and 10 Rebounds. But it wasn’t a Crimson Bear defense,'” he added.
A long-time buddy of Houston, Jeff Kemp, said that he had a picture of Houston at his usual places at the gym.
The span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”He will be embarrassed and ashamed of the number of people who were in attendance tonight, honoring his life and recognizing his achievements,” he said. “And I can picture him now, staring out the old office door in the middle of the room, wondering”How can I get out?’ ?'”
Houston was a basketball player at JDHS as a child. Over the course of 30 years as a coach the team, he helped them win two championships at the state level. Even though he left the sport from coaching in the year 2006 but he was playing on the court every day helping out through the summer.
Former Juneau schools director Bridget Wiess grew up with Houston and was able to observe his talent as an instructor.
span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”George could have gone to several places as a coach, and at many higher levels. However, he was so dedicated to Juneau and the children from Juneau,” she said. “Aren’t we lucky to be the ones who ?”
Weiss claimed that Houston was the one who inspired her to become the type of leader that he was.
“Think about George the man who was for you and try to be the same for someone else,” she said.
Houston’s daughter Jeannie Wolfe was the one who arranged the memorial. She’s a teacher in the present as well.
It’s a span style=”font-weight 400 ;”>”George was a family member isn’t it? In the first place. As I was hearing many stories, I discovered that he was a legend.” Wolfe said.
The service concluded with an unofficial student band called”the Radio Flyers — playing Neil Young’s Harvest Moon. It was Houston’s number one song.
