Beloved North Carolina coach who ‘inspired his players to achieve’ dies of COVID
A 48-year-old high school baseball coach from North Carolina died of COVID-19 complications after spending several weeks on a ventilator.
Andy Harper, who coached baseball at High Point Central High School, started feeling sick after an out-of-town baseball tournament, his parents told FOX8.
“I don’t know how he made it,” Andy Harper’s dad Bud Harper told the news outlet. “Even driving home he was so sick.”
Andy Harper — who wasn’t vaccinated — was taken to the emergency room on Aug. 2, Bud Harper told the outlet, and doctors “couldn’t keep his oxygen level high enough.”
He passed away on Aug. 27, according to his obituary.
Andy Harper coached local baseball for more than 30 years, his obituary said, “but he was more than a coach.”
“Through his quiet, unassuming disposition and demeanor he not only inspired his players to achieve at a high level and develop their skills, he also taught them how to live life and deal with its wide range of day-to-day challenges,” according to his obituary.
He taught AP World, AP US History, Civics & Economics and Sociology at Kearns Academy for seven years, his obituary said.
A native of Kernersville, he graduated from Wake Forest University as a business major before getting his teaching degree from Winston-Salem State University, according to his obituary.
Andy Harper was known for giving “100%” at everything he did, including mentoring young players at different schools and organizations, his obituary said. He also started the nonprofit Touch ‘Em All to help disadvantaged children get the chance to play baseball.
“He never cared so much about winning a game, just play your best,” Bud Harper told FOX8. “If you play your best, done all you can do, that was good enough for him.”
He is survived by his parents, Bud and Gaye Harper, brother, sister, and extended family, according to his obituary.
A celebration of life will be held 7 p.m. for Andy Harper on Sept. 3 at Truist Point Stadium.
“This venue was chosen since Andy spent much of his life on a baseball field,” his obituary reads, “and the family asks those in attendance to dress as if you were attending a game.”
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 3:48 PM.
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