Just over a week before the start of the school year, Bossier High is dealing with a tragedy.
Veteran coach David Beeson died early Monday, Bossier co-athletic director Christa Denney said. The apparent cause was a pulmonary embolism.
A celebration of life will be held 10 a.m. Saturday at Airline Baptist Church.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the David Beeson Memorial Fund for athletic scholarships and student athletic assistance.
Checks can be made to Bossier High School, 777 Bearkat Drive, Bossier City, LA 71111 or donations can be made through the link on the Bossier High School home page: www.bossierhs.com
Denney said Beeson had been an integral part of Bossier High athletics since 2008.
He was the head wrestling coach and an assistant football and baseball coach. Coaches only get paid for two sports. He volunteered to help with the baseball team.
“There was no greater guy than you could really work with,” Denney said. “It didn’t matter what kind of job it was, David would do it. David did the jobs nobody wanted to do a lot of times.
“He’d be the one to make a late-night Sam’s run and unload his truck and ask nobody for help. He just did it. We were trying to come up with a list of things he did and I don’t think you can come up with a list. You always say when someone leaves your school there’s a hole and it’s hard to fill, this one is going to be a hard one to fill.”
Beeson is survived by his wife, Lori, and children Lacy, Beth, Coleman, Coty, Corey and Casey.
Coty has been helping as a non-faculty assistant coach at Bossier.
Coleman is a three-sport athlete at Bossier. He was a first-team All-District 1-4A baseball selection at pitcher and a second-team All-District 1-III soccer selection last season. He is slated to be the Bearkats’ starting quarterback this season.
David Beeson served in the Air Force for 26 years, Denney said. After receiving a medical discharge, he began a second career as an educator and coach. He was a graduate of LSUS.
“He worked with a lot of the troubled kids, the kids nobody wanted to deal with, and he got through to them,” Denney said. “He was some kind of a magician, I guess.”
In his Beeson’s bio on the Bossier website, this is listed as his favorite quote. “My responsibility is getting all my players playing for the name on the front of the jersey, not the one on the back.”
His most memorable coaching experience: “Coaching all my kids in sports both Pee Wee and High School.”
