Paul Funk, the principal and former longtime football and baseball coach at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School, who was expected to take over soon as principal of Duxbury High School, died suddenly on Saturday, officials said.
Funk, 51, spent more than 20 years as an educator and coach at Dennis-Yarmouth.
“Paul’s warmth, humor, and leadership will be sorely missed by everyone at DY,” Superintendent Carol Woodbury said in a statement Sunday. “The Dennis-Yarmouth Community shares the sadness of Paul’s family. We are sending them our love and support.”
Duxbury Superintendent Danielle Klingaman offered condolences to Funk’s family and friends.
“Dr. Funk was already a valued member of the Duxbury Public Schools community,” Klingaman said. “This is a tremendous loss.”
Funk arrived at Dennis-Yarmouth in 2001 as a physical education and health teacher. He later moved to science and taught anatomy/physiology and biology, Woodbury said.
Meanwhile, Funk rebuilt the school’s struggling football program, bringing it back to varsity status and leading his teams to Super Bowl appearances in 2011, 2013, and 2017, winning two.
“He drew the blueprint of how to grow a program from the ground up,” said Barnstable head football Coach Ross Jatkola, who was a junior at Dennis-Yarmouth when Funk took over the program.
“We were on the brink of extinction ... and they made a last grasp to save the program, and that’s when Paul came in, and he ignited a flame in the entire town,” he said.
Jatkola played two seasons under Funk and continued playing at the University of Albany, an accomplishment for which he credited Funk.
“If Paul Funk doesn’t come to Dennis-Yarmouth, I don’t know if I even go to college, let alone play at that level,” Jatkola said. “He was instrumental in my life.”
Jatkola eventually returned to the Cape and joined Funk’s staff as an assistant coach.
Chris Marsh, a freshman on the Dennis-Yarmouth team when Funk stepped in, also returned to coach at the school alongside Funk. Marsh later took the helm of the football and baseball programs when Funk became principal.
Seeing former players return to give back to the community was especially rewarding to Funk, Marsh said.
“For him, that meant we saw the value in what we were doing,” Marsh said. “When he saw us come back to coach, or to teach, or volunteer and coach the youth, that meant a lot to him, because it just says how much that learning experience meant to us growing up, and how important it is for the student-athletes that are coming up.
“He just believed strongly in what athletics could teach young people, and he put a lot of time and effort into that.”
Funk was appointed assistant principal and athletic director for Dennis-Yarmouth in 2014. He was named principal five years later and stepped away from coaching.
“He was so proud because he worked so hard to get his doctorate while running the program, and athletics, and having a family,” Jatkola said. “He was always planning on moving up, and we were excited to see him take that step.”
Funk’s tenure at Dennis-Yarmouth was coming to an end this year, after he accepted the job in Duxbury, where his family lives.
“He moved his family there to have this dream job in an unbelievable district, and to know he had that coming in a few months is devastating,” Jatkola said.
Marsh, who also teaches at Dennis-Yarmouth, said Funk gave “100 percent of himself” throughout his time at the school.
“I know it was a hard decision for him to take that job, because he felt like DY was part of his family,” he said.
Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @NickStoico.
Paul Funk, longtime educator and coach at Dennis-Yarmouth High, dies at 51 - The Boston Globe
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