J.C. Duncan family honored with memorial plaque
Patty Duncan stands with the memorial plaque presented at Thursday night’s school board meeting in honor of her late husband, J.C. Duncan.
October 22, 2014
Charlea Mills
The Cassville School Board meeting on Thursday night was standing room only, and the reason for the crowd was a special presentation planned for Patty Duncan, widow of the long-time Cassville basketball coach J.C. Duncan.
Patty was invited to the meeting by the school board and Superintendent Dr. Richard Asbill, but for what, she did not know. What awaited her was a section of the floor from the gym where J.C. coached for 31 years. The center court section of floor was framed with a photo of J.C. and a plaque.
A teary-eyed Asbill unveiled the plaque in front of Patty, her three children and a large group of friends at the board meeting. For Patty, the moment was overwhelming, she said. She continued, “It was such an honor. This community always reaches out to people, and I’m so glad I live here.”
Obviously taken by surprise, Patty said, “When they asked me to come to the meeting, I never dreamed it would be that.”
When asked what J.C. would have thought about the honor, she said, “He was a pretty emotional person. He would have thought about all the kids he coached. He always thought that he had the best group of kids to teach and work with.”
This isn’t the first time the Cassville R-IV School District has honored Duncan, who also served as the assistant football coach in his early years and dean of students, as well. In 2008, the gym, typically referred to as the rock gym because of its rock exterior, was renamed the J.C. Duncan Gymnasium. Duncan passed away the following year.
The gym was originally constructed in 1935. Duncan started teaching and coaching for Cassville in 1956 and retired in the last 1980s. It was a group of former players and community leaders that proposed the name change of the gym back in 2008, according to Asbill.
Then, in January when the building flooded from frozen pipes that burst, it was apparent that the floor was going to have to be replaced. Asbill said, “When the water damage destroyed the floor, we knew we’d need to replace it, and right around the time I suggested we save a piece of the floor for the Duncan family, the museum also contacted me about saving a piece of the floor for them.”
He said, “J.C. basically coached in the rock gym his entire career. This was an effort to recognize what he had done for all of the students and the district while he was there.” The district also gifted a piece of the floor to the Barry County Museum.
Asbill continued, “A lot of people actually asked for pieces of the floor. It was such a big part of many people’s memories of this area. We thought if we could save some of those memories to the Duncan family, it would be the right thing.” With the gym floor being over 40 years old, it meant that many, many students had memories of playing on it during their time at Cassville Schools.
It was a group effort that made the presentation possible. Asbill said, “Sports World donated the plaque, the photo came from the museum, and it all just came together.”
The presentation of the commemorative plaque comes at a time when the repairs and renovations of the building are almost complete. After the water damage, the floor needed to be replaced, along with many of the interior walls and bathrooms. The district also opted to go ahead and replace windows, guttering, flashing and sofit in the J.C. Duncan Gym to make it last for many more years.
After the presentation of the plaque at the meeting, Patty said, “What a wonderful thing for them to even think to do. It’s such a treasure for them to give this.”
Charlea Mills
The Cassville School Board meeting on Thursday night was standing room only, and the reason for the crowd was a special presentation planned for Patty Duncan, widow of the long-time Cassville basketball coach J.C. Duncan.
Patty was invited to the meeting by the school board and Superintendent Dr. Richard Asbill, but for what, she did not know. What awaited her was a section of the floor from the gym where J.C. coached for 31 years. The center court section of floor was framed with a photo of J.C. and a plaque.
A teary-eyed Asbill unveiled the plaque in front of Patty, her three children and a large group of friends at the board meeting. For Patty, the moment was overwhelming, she said. She continued, “It was such an honor. This community always reaches out to people, and I’m so glad I live here.”
Obviously taken by surprise, Patty said, “When they asked me to come to the meeting, I never dreamed it would be that.”
When asked what J.C. would have thought about the honor, she said, “He was a pretty emotional person. He would have thought about all the kids he coached. He always thought that he had the best group of kids to teach and work with.”
This isn’t the first time the Cassville R-IV School District has honored Duncan, who also served as the assistant football coach in his early years and dean of students, as well. In 2008, the gym, typically referred to as the rock gym because of its rock exterior, was renamed the J.C. Duncan Gymnasium. Duncan passed away the following year.
The gym was originally constructed in 1935. Duncan started teaching and coaching for Cassville in 1956 and retired in the last 1980s. It was a group of former players and community leaders that proposed the name change of the gym back in 2008, according to Asbill.
Then, in January when the building flooded from frozen pipes that burst, it was apparent that the floor was going to have to be replaced. Asbill said, “When the water damage destroyed the floor, we knew we’d need to replace it, and right around the time I suggested we save a piece of the floor for the Duncan family, the museum also contacted me about saving a piece of the floor for them.”
He said, “J.C. basically coached in the rock gym his entire career. This was an effort to recognize what he had done for all of the students and the district while he was there.” The district also gifted a piece of the floor to the Barry County Museum.
Asbill continued, “A lot of people actually asked for pieces of the floor. It was such a big part of many people’s memories of this area. We thought if we could save some of those memories to the Duncan family, it would be the right thing.” With the gym floor being over 40 years old, it meant that many, many students had memories of playing on it during their time at Cassville Schools.
It was a group effort that made the presentation possible. Asbill said, “Sports World donated the plaque, the photo came from the museum, and it all just came together.”
The presentation of the commemorative plaque comes at a time when the repairs and renovations of the building are almost complete. After the water damage, the floor needed to be replaced, along with many of the interior walls and bathrooms. The district also opted to go ahead and replace windows, guttering, flashing and sofit in the J.C. Duncan Gym to make it last for many more years.
After the presentation of the plaque at the meeting, Patty said, “What a wonderful thing for them to even think to do. It’s such a treasure for them to give this.”
