Bemidji High School assistant football coach Jim McKeon dies unexpectedly
Feb. 13—BEMIDJI — Bemidji High School football assistant coach Jim McKeon passed away unexpectedly over the weekend.
"It is with great sadness and with a very heavy heart that we announce the passing of coach Jim McKeon," BHS head football coach Bryan Stoffel said in a Facebook post on Monday. "Jim has spent over 20 years being a positive force for kids in Bemidji.
"Known to those that knew him from afar as the 'coach who always wears shorts,' Jim will be remembered by those that had the pleasure to know him as a kind-hearted friend.
"As devastated as we are, we take comfort knowing he's with his daughter, Gianna, and will be looking over us all. We love and will miss our dear friend."
The McKeon family lost Gianna in January 2022 at the age of 10 after being diagnosed in February 2021 with telangiectatic osteosarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.
The longtime BHS coach won the Butch Nash award at the 2022 Minnesota Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame banquet in Minneapolis.
The honor is given to assistant coaches in the state who play a prominent role in their school's football program and own qualities that make them "the epitome of the ideal assistant coach."
At the awards presentation, McKeon was described as "the godfather of Bemidji football. He has spent 20 years being a positive force for kids at Bemidji High School. Through it all, his commitment to his 'boys,' willingness to sacrifice for others and his dedication to our sport has been immeasurable.
"We in the Bemidji community are extremely fortunate to have coach McKeon, and we are ecstatic that his work is being recognized at the state level."
Donate to the the McKeon family's gofundme
here.
