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Berwick High School posthumously inducted longtime Coach Tommy Bourgeois into its Athletic Hall of Fame Tuesday between the girls and boys basketball games against Kaplan. With Berwick Principal Buffy Fegenbush, left, are Martha Bourgeois, Bourgeois’ wife; Kristen Bourgeois, daughter; Beau Bourgeois, son; and Dru Hebert, daughter, and her husband Carl Hebert and their three children. (The Daily Review/Corwin Murray)

Tommy Bourgeois inducted posthumously into Berwick High School Athletic Hall of Fame

By CORWIN MURRAY

Berwick High School posthumously inducted longtime Coach Tommy Bourgeois into its Athletic Hall of Fame Tuesday before the Berwick boys’ basketball team defeated Kaplan, 64-55, in District 8-3A play at Berwick.
Bourgeois, a 1976 Berwick High graduate, coached football, basketball and baseball for the Panthers. He started as an assistant football coach in 1986 before adding basketball and baseball duties, but his heart was with basketball.
“Tommy did many things here as an administrator, teacher and coach, but it was in this gym where you could truly see his passion,” Berwick High School Principal Buffy Fegenbush said before presenting a plaque to Bourgeois’ widow, Martha, and their children.
Bourgeois died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, more commonly known as ALS, in 2014.
The Bourgeois family was met by healthy applause from former students, co-workers and other family members.
“It’s overwhelming the love and support we’ve had from the junior high (Berwick), the high school and the entire community throughout the entire ordeal of his sickness,” Martha Bourgeois said after the touching ceremony. “Words could never express how we feel about the love and support we’ve received from this community.”
Bourgeois also served as principal at Berwick Junior High and assistant principal at Bayou Vista Elementary.
“Tommy was a son of the community, and he was an important part of our success in every role he played,” Fegenbush said. “For our older generation and the younger ones you see here tonight, have all prospered from the kindness he showed them.”
Berwick started its Athletic Hall of Fame this school year with the inductions of coaches Lud Henry and Lloyd Burchfield.
“This first year we were really looking to select people who had long contributions from students to the end of their careers as professionals,” Fegenbush said. “In the future, we are going to open it up to be more generalized as far as contributions, but this year, we really wanted to recognize and showcase those we feel contributed the most.”

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