Our Lady of Lourdes community remembers Coach Cazzie Brown

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SALT LAKE CITY – As members of a Catholic School community, we are called to witness our faith in times of joy and sorrow, and to support one another.  During the first few days of September, the Our Lady of Lourdes School community came together to honor Coach Cazzie Brown and support the family he left behind. Coach Brown, as he was known to many, was the husband of the school’s third-grade teacher, Heather Brown. He died unexpectedly on Aug. 27 from bacterial meningitis.

Coach Brown impacted the lives of many throughout the Catholic community and beyond. He had previously been on faculty and coached at Our Lady of Lourdes School, Judge Memorial Catholic High School and East and Highland high schools. Most recently he taught at the McGillis School, and was in his second year as the head football coach at Hillcrest High School, where he coached his oldest son.

To honor and remember Coach Brown, Lourdes students wore white on Sept. 1 and raised $1,158 to help support Mrs. Brown and her three children. The next morning community members, students, faculty and staff gathered at the Hillcrest High School Stadium along with hundreds of others to celebrate the life of Cazzie Brown.   

One of Coach Brown’s greatest sayings was, “You can ignite many candles without diminishing your own flame.” Cazzie Brown’s flame will forever be in our hearts. He had a gift with kids – the ripple of his impact will continue for years and decades to come through all the lives he touched.

As a community we are brokenhearted, be we know that the Lord is near. We continue to pray for his wife, our third-grade teacher Mrs. Brown and her family, who are deeply suffering from the loss.  

Support and donations can still be made through the Coach Brown GoFundMe account https://www.gofundme.com/coachbrown and a Care Calendar www.carecalendar.org/logon/259502 (security code 6909).

Courtesy of Our Lady of Lourdes School