“Life is a song – sing it. Life is a game – play it. Life is a challenge – meet it. Life is a dream – realise it. Life is a sacrifice – offer it. Life is love – enjoy it.”

Sai Baba, spiritual leader and philanthropist

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Kris Pechet
November 17, 1954 – September 1, 2025



The BCSSFA and the BCSS Football community extend their heartfelt condolences to the friends and family of Kris Pechet. Kris was a dedicated long-time High School and Junior Coach, and served as past President of BCSSFA. His leadership, including guiding Seaquam to the BC AA title in 2008, left a lasting impact on our community. Kris was a great friend and will be deeply missed.

OBIT

Ian Anderson
September 1, 1942 ~ April 25, 2025 



From BCF Hall of Fame 
"Fondly remembered as the head coach at Steveston High School for more than 20 years, Ian Anderson was also a very skilled, highly praised high school football official. He served as President of the BC Football Officials Association, and was instrumental in recruiting numerous former players and coaches into the officiating community, Ian served as an ambassador for high school officials well after his coaching tenure was over. Known as a true gentlemen on the sideline, he was also a strict disciplinarian with players and assistant coaches. Ian’s goal was ensure respect and recognition for the role that officials played in every game and by all accounts went to great lengths to ensure enjoyment by all.

Ian also served as President of the Coaches’ Association for many years and was instrumental in developing and strengthening many of the policies and procedures forged between the two organizations. Ian’s work on and off the field helped to develop the game of football in British Columbia in ways that many fans never get to see directly."

"Celebration Of Life"
1:00 PM - 4:00 PM
Friday June 13
Cedar Community Hall
2388 Cedar Rd, Nanaimo, BC V9X 1K3 
 

Richmond Sports Wall of Fame
BCFOA Life Member
OBIT

Mike Ross



“A graduate of Dan Doyle’s famed Centennial Secondary football teams, Mike Ross returned to the Coquitlam School District to teach and coach high school football. He began at Montgomery Jr. High before moving over to PoCo High School, which later became Terry Fox Secondary. He would win a provincial championship in 1992.
Ross served as president of the BC Secondary Schools Football Association in 1973 and had a second stint in 1992-92. He has coached many players that went on to play collegiately and in the CFL. Tri City News


Mark Burchak



FEBRUARY 15, 1960 – APRIL 17, 2024
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of an unparalleled father, husband, son, teammate, co-worker, coach and friend. Mark (Bubba) Burchak passed away peacefully at home, surrounded by his family, after a lengthy battle with prostrate cancer. He was predeceased by his parents Edward and Katherine and his brother Arthur. Left to mourn his passing are his loving wife Donna Smith and sons Riley and Joshua (Josh), and many beloved friends.
Obit

Ken McKinnon

FEBRUARY 9, 1938 – OCTOBER 11, 2022

The entire British Columbia amateur football family has lost an icon with the recent passing of Ken McKinnon. CONT

Gerry Parr

MARCH 6, 1947 – JULY 14, 2021

Gerry was involved with many organizations through his coaching career. From the 1986 UBC Vanier Cup Champions to stints at  Western Washington, Vancouver Trojans and on the coaching staff at Notre Dame! Gerry was ‘old school, the day didn’t end until all the prep was done! He approached everything with a sense of humour and made coaching fun, he will be missed.

Obit

Bill Vance

Bill was a life long builder and supporter of football in BC. Bill coached Britannia to the 1967 Shrine Bowl where they were co-champions and was a life long member of the Vancouver Merolomas. Bill also could be found "guest" coaching at UBC through the 1970's and 80's. The BCSSFA sends their condolences to the Vance family. 

The Orca

Peter Ohler

DECEMBER 29, 1940 – JUNE 7, 2021

Peter was a coach, mentor and friend to many. He will be deeply missed. The BCSSFA sends their condolences to the Ohler family.

Obituary

CFLapedia

Vancouver Sun

Rich Goulet

Rich was a high school boys basketball coach for more than 50 years, including 39 at Pitt Meadows. Along the way he earned a spot in the Basketball B.C. Hall of Fame and won the Prime Minister’s Volunteer award. He also won five provincial championships, including three at Pitt Meadows. The BCSSFA sends their condolences to the Goulet family.

Maple Ridge - Pit Meadows News

Al Cameron

1951 - 2021

Big Al was an outstanding athlete and high-school (Notre Dame), collegiate (U of Colorado / UBC), and professional (CFL) football player. He went on to build houses in Kelowna and pioneer the outdoor furnishing business in Vancouver.

Vancouver Sun

Chris Tompson

1959 - 2021

Chris quarterbacked the 1975 Richmond Colts to an undefeated season and a  BCSSFA Provincial Championship over Notre Dame 3-0. Chris went on to play defensive back for the UBC Thunderbirds.

Bob Laycoe

The BCSSFA family is mourning the loss of Bob Laycoe, one of the most accomplished and influential figures throughout the history of UBC varsity athletics.

UBC

Dr. Bob Hindmarch

“He was one of those special people who would make you feel good about what you were doing,." — UBC men’s basketball coach Kevin Hanson on the late Bob Hindmarch

The Province  BC Sports Hall of Fame Vancouver Sun WikiPedia

Michael Torresan

1964 - 2021

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Michael. After a long and brave fight, Michael lost his battle with non-Hogkins lymphoma on March 2. A grad of Vancouver College and UBC Michael was drafted by the Calgary Stampeders. He will be missed by all those who knew him.

Kori Nagata

   

1996 - 2020

The BC High School Football community mourns the loss of Kory Nagata, who tragically passed away just a few days ago. Our condolences go to the Nagata family, his friends, Hugh Boyd, the Okanagan Sun and UBC Football

The Hugh Boyd Secondary football grad was also a running back for the UBC Thunderbirds before continuing his studies at the Sauder School of Business. 

Varsity Letters

The Province      BCTV      UBC Football

Raymond Turner

JUNE 29,1956 - June 14, 2020

Ray graduated from John Oliver High School where he played Varsity Football and Basketball for the Jokers. Ray was part of the 1976 and 1978 Vancouver Meraloma Junior Football Championship teams. He also spent many years coaching John Oliver. Jokers football alongside his brother Ron. One of Ray's proudest achievements was winning the Provincial Football Championship in 1992.

He will be sadly missed.

 

Vancouver Sun

 

Roy Vollinger

 

MAY 1, 1942 – JUNE 3, 2020

From Mark Townsend:

It is with heartfelt sympathy and sadness to announce our beloved Coach Roy Vollinger has passed away.  What an amazing and proud person Coach Roy was.  I feel blessed and privileged to have been known Roy, who became a father figure to me.  He had remarkable life and nobody could tell a funny story like Coach Roy.  We all know Roy as an iconic football person, especially as a coach, organizer and builder.  In 2012, Coach Roy was honoured with the Pioneer Award at the Orange Helmet Awards hosted by the BC Lions.  He was a true character and so very generous.  Coach Roy, you will be deeply, deeply missed my friend.

Thank you to Michelle Hallschmid and Llynda Vollinger for giving me the opportunity to share some stories and love with Roy at the Jubilee Hospital yesterday.  I will forever remember the “thumbs up” Coach Roy gave me just before I left.    

Let us please send healing prayers, love and comforting hugs to his wife Llynda.

Victoria Times Colonist 

Dignity Memorial

Samwel Uko

  .

January 1, 2000 - May 21, 2020

With extreme sadness, we announce that Samwel Uko passed away recently.

Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go to the Uko family, Abbotsford Senior Secondary School and U of S Huskies Football during this difficult time.

Canadafootballchat

Victor Kristopaitis (Kristo)

   

September 16, 1935 - January 24, 2020

Vic was the 17th draft pick in the NFL to the 49ers, then went to the Toronto Argonauts until 1958. Vic was a kicker, linebacker and could also play guard. He was known widely as 'Vic the kick' ! When Vic was traded to the BC Lions he met Audrey of Australia and they married in 1961.  In the 70's Vic was 'Coach Kristo' to young football players he coached at Vancouver College and also had a BC Lions post game show on NW'98.  

Obituary

Elijah Drasyl

January 11, 2020

It is with a heavy heart that we announce that Elijah Drasyl passed away this past weekend. Our thoughts and condolences go to the Elijah’s family, friends and

@ArgylePipersFB

North Vancouver high schools mourn teen who died in car crash

"He was very connected to both school communities and his loss will certainly affect both schools," Argyle, principal Kim Jonat  wrote. "Our hearts go out to the family and friends during this incredibly difficult time." 

CTV News North Shore News

 

Steve Gelley 

Thoughts from Tom Kudaba

I first met Steve in 1972 at Simon Fraser as a rookie. We were all in the same boat and few of us at that time felt that our class would be arguably the bumper crop of players to wear the SFU colours. Included in this group were players like Lui Passaglia, Glen Jackson, Randy Graham, Greg Warkentin, Emil Nielsen, and myself. Of course as rookies we were under the watchful eye of Lorne Davies (continued)

Gary Conley 

July 9, 1945-December 16, 2019 

Gary earned a degree at SFU and was an inaugural member of the SFU Football team 1965. He spent his career in the District of Coquitlam as an athlete, student, coach, teacher, administrator and retired as an Assistant Superintendent.

Obituary

Matt "Major" Phillips

July 29, 1933 - September 22, 2018

Matt played collegiately at Pepperdine College in Los Angeles (where he earned his nickname "Major") before taking his career back home to play for the B.C. Lions in 1957 as an offensive lineman. However, it was his passion for teaching and football where he would make his greatest impact, especially in Richmond where he helped launch programs at Steveston, Cambie and London. In 2016, Phillips was inducted into the B.C. Football Hall of Fame as a builder, along with the Richmond Sports Wall of Fame. He also was recognized for his 30-plus years of work as an official and is a past winner of the prestigious B.C. School Sports Honour Award.

Obituary

Newspaper

Bernie Kully

July 30,1976 - Sept. 30, 2017

Bernie's passion was football. He started playing in grade 8 at STMC and continued on at SFU. After Bernie graduated, he joined the STMC staff where he was a teacher, academic councilor and football coach for the past 17 years. Bernie cared about all his students and brought a dedication, commitment, determination and humor to all aspects of his life. He was known to be watching countless hours of game film preparing for the next game, even at midnight the night before! He left us much too young and will be remembered forever in our hearts as a loving son, brother, uncle, coach, teacher and friend.

Obituary Burnaby Now

Brian Higgins

1950 - 2017

Brian was a lifetime contributor to football in BC. Coach with South Delta, STM and New Westminster Brian also had a stint at UBC and was a member of the BCSSFA Executive. Brian was the Supervising Lawyer for the Law Students’ Legal Advice Program (LSLAP) at UBC Law for 23 years from 1988 to 2011. 

Legacy UBC

Rick Klassen

July 25, 1959 – December 10, 2016

Rick played his high school football at Sardis Secondary!  He was drafted as an offensive guard by the Lions in 1981, but was converted to a defensive lineman in his rookie season. He was named the most valuable Canadian of the 1983 Grey Cup, though the Lions lost the title match 18-17 to the Toronto Argonauts. Two years later he got a chance to hoist the iconic trophy when the Lions downed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats 37-24 to take the 1985 Grey Cup. Klassen joined the Saskatchewan Roughriders for the 1988 season before returning to the Lions for the final two years of his career. he announced his retirement after the 1990 season. Over a span of 160 CFL games, Klassen recorded 66 sacks and added another four and a half in two Grey Cup appearances. Klassen was voted a member of the Lions’ All-Time Dream Team in 2003 as part of the team’s 50th anniversary celebrations. He was inducted into the B.C. Lions Wall of Fame in 2007 as part of the Lions’ 1985 Grey Cup team.

News Clips

Dan Doyle

1928 - 2015

Dan Doyle was a lifelong educator, coach and community builder in Coquitlam. He was a founding member of the Coquitlam Secondary Schools Athletic Association and co-author of the constitution establishing BC School Sports, the governing body of high school competitive sports in the province today. Dan was an inaugural inductee into the Coquitlam Sports Hall of Fame in 2010, and was honoured with a pioneer award at the 2009 Orange Helmet Awards. Dan was also heavily involved with the BCSSFA executive!

Obituary 

BC Football Hall of Fame

Steve Faoro

2014

Steve will be remembered as a larger than life personality! Steve played Coquitlam communty football, junior varsity at Port Moody Junior and Varsity for Pinetree Secondary.  He earned BCSSFA Provincial All Star honours. At Acadia he was an all-conference selection at linebacker three straight seasons from 2004-2006, an all-Canadian selection in 2006, and was the AUS defensive player of the year in both 2005 and 2006. After graduating from Acadia, Faoro played in the CFL and in Europe. More recently, the B.C. he played for the Bellingham Bulldogs, a minor pro team in Washington State, close to the Canada - U.S. border, and had also coached.

  Bellingham Herald  Acadia Athletics

Carey Lapa

November 1, 1959 - January 9, 2011

Carey was a member of the UBC Vanier Cup team and was drafted by the Hamilton Tiger Cats. He was voted to the UBC Top 100 team in 2019. Carey was past president of B.C. Secondary School Football Association as well as coach with the JV and Varsity Terry Fox Ravens. 

Obituary