David Joseph Secord

David J. Secord was an accomplished man who invested in people and measured success by building character as well as skill. He guided students and was concerned for their well being in much the same way that he did for his own family. A straightforward guy, David earned everything he had, paid cash for whatever he bought and did business with a hand shake. Always giving and never expecting anything in return, David quietly expressed his personal and deep faith.

David’s story began during a period in history when the world economy was trying to recover from the Great Depression. To make life pleasant, Americans relied on the simple joys of gathering round the radio to listen to baseball games or be inspired by President Franklin Roosevelt’s Fireside Chats. On June 21, 1937, David was born to Esther Secord in his grandmother’s home in Alma, Michigan. Esther worked as a nurse to raise her only child, and when David was 16, she married Kenneth Blodgett. Working as a custodian at the court house in support of his new family, Kenneth provided much more through the bond he formed with David. David always regarded Kenneth as his father.

Growing up, David showed his athletic abilities in sports. At Alma High School, he lettered in football, baseball, basketball and track. After graduating in 1955, he continued running track at Ferris State University. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in education and went on to earn a master’s degree in education at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. It soon became apparent that David’s two loves—education and sports—would come together in his life’s work.

If teaching was his profession, coaching was David’s passion. He taught and coached for 40 years, mostly at Merrill High School in central Michigan. He saw coaching as an opportunity to develop students, so he chose to focus on younger players in junior varsity teams. His commitment was rewarded with successful seasons and recognized when he was inducted into the Michigan and National Coaching Hall of Fame with over 500 wins in football, basketball and baseball.

In August of 1959, David was married to Barbara Woodard and had a family of six children: Wendy, Kelli, David, Terri, Kevin and Tim. The marriage ended in 1972, and in 1973, David married Gail and adopted her daughter Krista into the family. They divorced in 1982. David later married Sharon and the two of them shared many years together with a large and growing family.

David truly enjoyed time with his children and grandchildren, and especially in retirement, he and Sharon traveled to wherever the grandchildren were. One of their favorite spots was Sunset Harbor, which became the location of Secord camp each year. He also spent time fishing with the grandchildren from the dock at his home and attended their sporting events. Dave and Sharon wintered in Florida for several years and developed many friendships there. Together they fished, bowled and golfed, David only tolerated these activities because Sharon usually beat him at all of those sports. Fortunately, David had an easy-going personality, so he was laid back about many activities. For example, duct tape was his answer to whatever was broken, because he was not mechanical and would rather spend his time enjoying family. However, there were times that David could get fired up, and that was likely to happen when coaching or when he was engaged in one of his favorite pastimes—watching sports. He was also known to yell at whatever he was trying to fix.

With David’s passing on Saturday, October 1, 2011 at MidMichigan Medical Center in Alma, his family and friends will remember him as a devoted husband, father, grandfather, coach and mentor to many.

David J. Secord, age 74 of St. Louis, Michigan, is survived by his wife of 28 years, Sharon; his children, Wendy (Kelly) Popplewell, Kelli (Patrick) Mizer, David C. (Kelly) Secord, Terri Secord, Kevin (Gail) Secord, Krista (John) Stieby, Tim (Tera) Secord; his step-children, Cheri (Doug) Moore, Valerie (Brad) Gardner, Tom (Amy) Champlin, Tim Champlin, Lauri (Brian) Trudell, Gordon Shively, Scott Shively, Rick (Bobbi) Shively, Lisa Shively, Karen Billings; 42 grandchildren; and 25 great grandchildren.

Visitation for David will be held from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 4, at the Dewey Funeral Home in Alma. The funeral service will take place at the Alma First Church of God on Wednesday, October 5 at 11:00 a.m. with Pastor Steven Wimmer officiating. Burial will be held in Riverside Cemetery, Alma.

Please visit www.lifestorynet.com where you can read his life story, sign his guest book online and/or make a memorial contribution to the Merrill Sports Boosters.

The family was served by the Dewey Funeral Home of Alma.