“He didn’t leave without finishing his business.”
A man could not have asked much more, nor could those who loved him. Consider longtime Kent Denver football coach and athletic director Scott Yates and his family at peace with the early Saturday passing of his father, Dick Yates, at 84 from bone cancer.
The elder Yates, a legend in Colorado prep circles, spent his final days in hospice, often perceived as the sad cap to a valued life, but it proved special.
“It was a great opportunity to sit and hold his hand, say a piece and laugh, just enjoy him,” Scott Yates said. “It certainly helped to comfort us.”
Dick Yates was able to surpass most of his projected life expectations by simply continuing as the battler he was, defying the odds that suggested he would have been taken much earlier. It was no surprise to family and friends, who watched the native Denverite, born in 1926, persevere as if everything were fine.
Yates was Denver through and through as well as symbolic of the once-proud and powerful Denver Prep League that ruled Colorado high school sports. He graduated from South; was a two-way football player for Denver’s Pioneers; won three consecutive big-school baseball titles heading the Rebels, well before today’s Cherry Creek and Rocky Mountain even thought about dynasties; switched to the new John F. Kennedy; won a combined 18 city titles over multiple sports; and was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
The former teacher retired years ago but never really stopped — he was there, a fixture at practices and games, for his son’s and grandson’s Sun Devils. Three generations active with the same sports teams is about as good as it gets.
It has been my experience that high-schoolers in any era greatly benefit from experiencing the older set.
“Dad liked to be there, giving pointers,” Scott Yates said. “Our kids seemed to respond to them.”
Of their many cherished moments together, Scott Yates recalled being at an Air Force football game in which the announcer alerted the crowd to his brother and alumnus Shanon performing a pregame flyover.
“Dad bawled like a baby,” Scott said.
There was a new entry Saturday. On the day of Yates’ passing, Dad the coach and Grandson the player led a rousing 38-7 victory over Lamar. Quarterback Richard was 9-of-12 for 206 yards and four TDs and intercepted a pass.
“He would have wanted us there,” Scott Yates said.
Footnotes.
In last week’s 35-28 loss to Aztec, N.M., Durango junior wide receiver Easton Garcia had 14 catches for 325 yards and three TDs. His yardage total was just 4 yards short of tying the single-game state record. . . . Legacy kicker Hugo Aguirre made three field goals last week, including the game-winner, in the Lightning’s 23-21 win over Broomfield.
Neil H. Devlin: 303-954-1714 or ndevlin@denverpost.com
