Teacher, mentor, and coach Alfred F. “Fred” Lafave Jr., 87, a longtime resident of Lenox, passed away comfortably, surrounded by family on Wednesday, September 4, 2024, at his home in Norfolk, Mass., where he resided since 2018.
Born April 5, 1937, the son of Alfred F. Lafave Sr. and Thelma (Estes) Lafave, Fred was a 1955 graduate of Williamstown High School, where he was captain of the baseball and basketball teams. He was the first schoolboy in Berkshire County to score 1,000 points.
Fred earned his teaching degree from North Adams State Teachers College (now MCLA) in 1960. That same year, he married his high school prom date, the former Helen J. Green, at St. Patrick’s Church in Williamstown. Shortly after their marriage, Fred and Helen moved to Lenox, where he taught for 36 years in the Lenox public schools, a school system he admired for its small size and school spirit. Because he was an only child, he always wanted a big family, and so he was a happy father of seven children.
In his 46 years (1962–2008) of coaching basketball at Lenox High School, Coach amassed over 600 wins and 25 championships, including two state titles with the boys in 1974 and the girls in 1992 (the only coach in Massachusetts to coach both boys and girls to state titles). For eight years, he coached the boys and girls teams simultaneously. He was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1999. He also coached baseball for 17 years, with a Western Mass title in both basketball and baseball in 1971.
More than the titles, he welcomed the opportunity to impart life lessons on the court and in the classroom. He will be remembered for emphasizing the fundamentals, which he taught at his summer basketball camp, and for his many sayings. Coach’s family is so grateful that he was able to attend the naming of the basketball court at LMMHS in his honor last winter and receive the outpouring of appreciation from the community.
To support such a large family, he worked landscaping jobs for cottages on the Stockbridge Bowl and painted at LMMHS in the summer months. In his spare time (what little there was of it), he loved to take his kids fishing on Windsor Pond, bask in the sun on his favorite lounge chair, putter around in his own garden, or watch “Lake Placid” with a bowl of buttered popcorn.
In addition to Helen, his devoted wife of 64 years, Fred is survived by his children: Alfred F. Lafave III (Shirley) of Lenox; Lisa Lowey (Keith) of Medway, Mass.; Amy Lafave of Lenox Dale; Laurie Lafave of Bellingham, Mass.; Jeffrey Lafave (Nicole) of Charlottesville, Va.; Nicole Patella (Anthony) of Lenox; and Cherie Grover (Donald) of Franklin, Mass. He was a loving “Papa” to his 13 grandchildren, Joseph Lowey (Lauren), Josh Lafave (Nicole), Katelyn Borchers (Callum), Becca Barone (Patrick), Morgan Pfizenmaier (Craig), Alexa Lowey, Bailey Patella, Luke Patella, Sophie Patella, Violet Grover, Brenna Lafave, Abram Grover, and Donovan Lafave, as well as 14 great-grandchildren.
A Service of Remembrance will be held at St. Ann’s Church in Lenox on Saturday, September 14, at 11 a.m., with a reception to follow. Burial will be private. There are no calling hours. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Lenox Youth Basketball Association in care of the Roche Funeral Home, 120 Main St. Lenox, MA 01240. To share memories and stories, please visit the funeral home’s website.
