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A Year After His death, Beloved Baylor University Coach’s Legacy of Love Continues

WACO, TX, December 8, 2021 – Retired Baylor University associate head softball coach Mark Lumley died December 27, 2020, after his fourth battle with cancer. Yet, almost a year after his death, his legacy of love continues to bring hope to the community.

This fall, Coach Lumley’s wife, Stacey Lumely, shared the story of her husband’s end-of-life journey at Messages of Hope, an event she hosted benefiting Community Healthcare of Texas, the not-for-profit hospice provider that cared for Coach Lumley in the final months of his life.

“Mark was the most loving, compassionate, and caring man anybody ever knew,” says Stacey. “And even in his illness, he was able to impact lives.”

As Coach Lumley’s cancer progressed and his treatment options had run out in September of 2020, the Lumley’s were determined to make the most of the time they had left together. That same determination compels Stacey to continue to share Mark’s story.

“A lot of people are confused about hospice,” Stacey explains. “It can be a positive experience. Mark loved life, and he loved people. Hospice allowed him to do both, and that’s the message I want others to hear.”

In the weeks leading up to Coach Lumley’s death, Stacey realized she needed additional help in caring for her husband, and he moved to Providence Hospice Place, Community Healthcare’s inpatient hospice house in Waco, where he received 24-hour care. During his stay there, in true Coach Lumley fashion, he rallied and, in his final days, returned home to spend Christmas surrounded by his loved ones before passing away two days later.

On December 11, 2021, at the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association (NFCA) National Convention in Las Vegas, Coach Lumley will be honored with the Association’s Donna Newberry “Perseverance” Award. This award recognizes an NFCA member coach who has demonstrated extraordinary strength of will and character in the fight to overcome a physical, mental, or social adversity. Stacey will be accepting the award on her husband’s behalf and once again sharing the story of his legacy of love.

View Coach Lumley’s story here.

About Community Healthcare of Texas

As the largest not-for-profit hospice and palliative care provider in Texas, Community Healthcare of Texas has provided end-of-life care services for adult and pediatric patients since 1996. With six office locations and three inpatient hospice houses, Community Healthcare of Texas serves 25 Dallas, Fort Worth, and Waco counties. Community Healthcare of Texas brings over 25 years of adult and pediatric care experience, offering hospice care, palliative care, education, child life specialists, emotional and spiritual support, and grief care to families as they travel the path of serious and terminal illnesses.
For more information or to learn more about Community Healthcare of Texas, please contact Deidrea Laux at dlaux@chot.org or call (817)929-9135 or visit www.chot.org

 

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