[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 4 (Tuesday, January 21, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E112]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      A TRIBUTE TO `COACH' DISNEY

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. RANDY ``DUKE'' CUNNINGHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 21, 1997

  Mr. CUNNINGHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to Mr. 
Richard `Dick' Disney. Coach Disney was a long time teacher, coach, and 
friend to thousands of Escondido's children. His life exemplifies the 
hard work, dedication, and concern for our children that we expect from 
our Nation's teachers.
  I submit for the Record the following article which chronicles Mr. 
Disney's life and achievements.

              [From the North County Times, Jan. 15, 1997]

              ``Coach'' Disney, 62, Dies After Collapsing

                           (By L. Erik Bratt)

       Escondido.--Richard ``Dick'' Disney's goals in life, his 
     friends say, were to inspire students through athletics, 
     build their self-esteem and make them realize that teamwork 
     is the key to success.
       He was about to bestow an award reflecting those ideals to 
     a student-athlete at Orange Glen High School Monday night, 
     but he never got the chance to do so.
       Mr. Disney, 62, collapsed and died just before presenting 
     the award--named after himself--to senior Matt Embrey, the 
     grandson of legendary Escondido High coach Chick Embrey, now 
     retired.
       Mr. Disney, a trustee of the Escondido Union High School 
     District and a former longtime coach and teacher at Orange 
     Glen, was taken to Palomar Medical Center after collapsing at 
     8 p.m. from what his wife, Sharon, said was a major heart 
     attack.
       ``He was the most wonderful husband in the world,'' Mrs. 
     Disney said. ``He died doing what he loved most, working with 
     kids and trying to help them be the best they can be.''
       Mr. Disney, known to most Escondido residents simply as 
     ``coach,'' was a Point Loma High graduate. He taught at both 
     San Marcos High and Escondido High before becoming a founding 
     faculty member at Orange Glen when it opened in 1962. He was 
     a physical education teacher, as well as the head football 
     coach and athletic director for several years.
       In 1967, he guided the Patriots to an undefeated record and 
     the county championship, said Paul Moyneur, quarterback of 
     that team and now a San Pasqual High teacher.
       ``I think the thing that stands out about him is that he 
     genuinely enjoyed being around kids,'' Moyneur said. ``He was 
     very fair. He was very good at getting the most out of 
     people.''
       Mr. Disney retired as head coach in 1972 but continued to 
     serve as an assistant, as well as coach of the freshman team. 
     At one point, he served as an assistant Moyneur, who was head 
     coach from 1976 to 1984.
       Mr. Disney's first wife, Sandra, died of cancer in 1980, 
     and he later remarried. He retired as a teacher in 1992. Two 
     years later, he won a seat on the high school board in a 
     landslide. He was an active member, helping solicit campaign 
     donations to get the district's $43 million general 
     obligation bond passed last June.
       ``I even called him `coach' because the way he treated any 
     kind of problem or concern was in a coaching way, never in a 
     confrontational how to play ball with their youngsters so the 
     children would not be ridiculed later in school,'' Gawronski 
     said.
       ``He was, and always will be, a coach,'' said Charlie 
     Snowder, school board president. ``That is how he lived his 
     life. He always promoted teamwork and individual excellence 
     in everything he ever did in life.''
       Besides his wife, Mr. Disney is survived by his father, 
     Richard V. Disney; his stepmother, Gladys Disney; two sons, 
     Doug Disney and Richard Disney; two daughters, Darlene 
     Coughlin and Dee Ann Disney-Jones; a stepdaughter, Wendy 
     Leggett; and a stepson, Matt Wilson.