Legendary South Whidbey coach dies at 92

Published 5:07 pm Friday, June 24, 2016

South Whidbey lost a respected high school football leader this week with the passing of “Coach” Jim Leierer.

Leierer, an influential man known for his wisdom, faith in God and corny jokes, died Wednesday at an adult care center in Seattle.

He was 92.

Leierer was a head football coach for Langley and South Whidbey High Schools from 1953-1982 who reached near iconic status in the school athletic community. The Falcons won numerous league titles during his 29-year tenure, including a second place finish in 1979 at the KingDome. He also coached soccer and basketball and taught science and physical education.

He made a lasting impact on his family, friends and players he coached.

“He’s one of those once-in-a-lifetime kind of people and touched everyone in one way or another,” said Avery Buechner, a former Falcon football player and 2012 graduate of South Whidbey. “You can’t define how big his heart was because you’re never going to meet someone like Coach Leierer again.”

For many, Leierer’s strong relationship with God was evident. Jon Chapman, a 1985 graduate who played for Leierer in his final year with the program, said Coach was also personable and caring for the students he came across. Though he was around athletes frequently, Chapman remembered Leierer often walking up to students who weren’t jocks.

“It didn’t matter who the kid was. He wanted to make an impression on that kid and show that student he cared about them,” Chapman said. “That was where he was living out his faith. He cared for every kid in that school district, no matter what their background was.”

Leierer graduated from high school in Enid, Okla. in 1943 and played football for the Navy from 1944-45, which exempted him from overseas service. After the Navy, he played football for Tulane University in New Orleans as a linebacker. He later transferred to Seattle Pacific University, where he met his wife Iladeene. Leierer took over Langley’s football program in 1953.

Success didn’t come easy to Leierer in his first few years at the reins, said his son, Stephen Leierer. But, as the years went on, the team’s success grew.

Mick Heggenes, who coached South Whidbey for 19 years after Leierer stepped down, played for Coach when the Falcons went undefeated in 1969. Langley was unable to show its worth in the postseason, however, as a playoff system had not yet been implemented, though Heggenes was confident the team could have played with the best in the state. Heggenes found Leierer as constantly being a man of his word.

“He was a stallion, physically,” Heggenes said. “If somebody did 40 push ups, he’d do 45. He was always there to push you to the next level. There are so many things I admired and appreciated about him. He modeled everything that he coached and preached. He didn’t ask us to do anything different than he would do himself.”

Though Leierer stepped down from the helm of the high school program in 1982, he remained involved in the community. Leierer coached middle school football for several years in the 1980s. He was active in his church teaching Sunday school, holding neighborhood bible studies and acting as a youth leader. He also taught drivers education well until the mid-2000s.

“He probably taught half of South Whidbey how to drive,” Chapman said.

But he was never far from Falcon football. Leierer often led prayers at the 10-yard-line before Friday night football games. He also pulled athletes aside to speak with them individually, where he would provide words of encouragement or ask the player if he could do more for the team. Leierer also watched countless games from afar alongside Heggenes and other former athletes and coaches.

“When he first came here, he was the guy who could beat probably anybody on the team in the Oklahoma Drill,” Stephen Leierer said. “In the last 10 years, he kind of became the Godfather.”

Mark Hodson, who coached South Whidbey’s football team for 14 years, thought it was profound that Leierer could be referenced with just a single word: Coach.

“For Jim Leierer, you didn’t have to have the name associate with it,” Hodson said. “Because it was the title of Coach. If you’re on South Whidbey and you said, ‘I talked to Coach yesterday,’ 100 percent of people know who you’re talking about.”

“His mission, his crusade in life never ended. He was still trying to pass around those concepts of work hard, brotherhood, teamwork and sportsmanship. Those were things that weren’t just ideas — they were his very core of being. When you bleed that stuff, it’s hard for it not to come out.”

He is survived by his wife, Iladeene, four children and seven grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, people are asked to donate to the Jim Leierer scholarship fund. A memorial service will be announced on social media or an advertisement in The Record, the family said.