Pat Webster, BHS 1978

Pat Webster, BHS 1978

TEMECULA: Late coach saluted by team, others

Published: 20 January 2012, The Press-Enterprise

A vigil Saturday in Temecula will honor longtime and well-loved youth baseball and basketball coach Pat Webster.

This week, family members and friends sat around the kitchen table in a Temecula home pouring over pictures of Mr. Webster, who died suddenly of an apparent heart attack in his home office on Jan. 13. He was 51.

“He was such a wonderful son,” Mr. Webster’s mother, Doris Van Buren said as she choked back tears. “As a child, I never had to tell him to do his homework or anything at all. He was a self starter and always helped others.”

The 2 p.m. vigil is at Hope Lutheran Church in Temecula.

Jan. 13 started out like many days at the Webster household. Mr. Webster’s wife, Gaby, shuttled the kids to school and said goodbye to her husband of 18 years before she headed out to run errands. “It was a normal day, nothing seemed out of the ordinary,” she said, sobbing. She added that they both had recently lost a fair amount of weight and enjoyed a healthy lifestyle and diet.

In the afternoon, the Websters’ 12-year-old son Cade returned from school and ran into his father’s office to greet him. “Cade called out to me and said that Dad looked like he was sleeping at his desk and didn’t look right,” Gaby Webster said. She said that she ran in and realized her husband was in grave condition and immediately called 911.

“Cade ran to a neighbor’s house for help,” she said.

Mr. Webster had been a fixture in the baseball community for the past seven years and often managed and coached teams. “You never know when you meet someone what role they will play in your life,” Mr. Webster’s close friend and coaching partner Rob Hays said. “We met on the field and became the best of friends.”

Sports played an important role in Mr. Webster’s life. He was a high school basketball star at Burbank High School. “He attended the John Wooden sports camp and was given the nickname Mr. Hustle,” Van Buren said. “He was always active and always into sports.” Mr. Webster still holds a basketball record for the Burbank Recreational Center for successfully making 38 free-throws in a row in 1972.

As for the travel ball baseball team he coached with Hays, it will continue. The Temecula Tritons played in a baseball tournament that began the day after Mr. Webster’s death. They pointed skyward in his memory. Then they won the championship. “I put this team together for a great group of athletic boys and great coaches,” Hays said. “We are a baseball family and Pat will be greatly missed.”

Burbank Leader, January 23, 2012

Pat Webster, BHS 1978

October 26, 1960-January 13, 2012

Pat graduated from Burbank High school 1978. He leaves behind his wife Gabby daughter Hailey son Cade, mother Doris, father Wallace D. Webster, sister Sharon, brothers Mike and Billy. Pat has lived in Temecula for the last 12 years.