DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — A giant of the DeKalb County community passed away over the weekend. Coach William “Buck” Godfrey has died at the age of 83.
Channel 2’s Lori Wilson spoke with the coach’s daughter on Monday about the legacy that her father leaves behind.
“I think when you’ve been loved so well, it’s really hard to sit in sadness,” daughter Rashan Ali said.
In his 30 years at Southwest DeKalb High School, Godfrey won 273 games, 13 regional championships and a state 4-A title, making him the winningest football coach in DeKalb County history.
Godfrey passed away on Aug. 1.
“I’m getting all these text messages, people saying, ‘Thank you for sharing your father with us,’ and ‘It was never about just my brother and I,’ and making sure we were good kids. It was about making sure the community was good kids as well,” Ali said.
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“Coach Buck,” as he was affectionately called, was inducted into four sports halls of fame. He was an author and English teacher who helped some 300 students get scholarships for higher education.
Ali said growing up, service was the standard.
“I grew up around greatness. I grew up around someone whose impact was never about them,” Ali said. “When you can serve others, that is the greatest commitment you can give on this side of the earth -- serving others. And he did just that,” Ali told Wilson.
The other standard: being kind to everyone.
“Not just football players. We’re talking lunch ladies, we’re talking janitors. My daddy had a love for everybody. He did it in his own way, but he just loved people, and he wanted to see the best out of young people,” Ali said.
And as a testament to what “Coach Buck” meant, not just to his school, but to the entire community, in 2015, Panthersville Stadium was renamed William “Buck” Godfrey Stadium.
It was an honor that Ali said she had to push her dad to accept.
“I had to be the one to say, ‘Daddy, please. Please let these people honor you in this way.’ Because when I tell you he was humble to a fault … Almost like you have to let people love on you,” Ali said.
Buck Godfrey Stadium is used by area high schools for football and track, a recognition that will live on.
“I’m gonna miss those text messages. That would brighten my day,” Ali said. “It was just... It was just an honor to be his daughter. Absolutely an honor to be his daughter. No other way to say it,” Ali said. “I was Coach Godfrey’s daughter before I was ever Rashan Ali, and you see my smile because when you have been loved this well, you can’t sit in sadness.”
Ali said they are planning a public memorial service for her father. That date has not been set yet.
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