Longtime Fairmont High School football coach Tom Mahoney, who ranks among the most successful coaches in Minnesota history, died Sunday in Fairmont at 81. The funeral will be at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. John Vianney Catholic Church in Fairmont.

Here is a link to a wonderful story about Mahoney written by Fairmont Sentinel sports editor Charlie Sorrells. Fittingly, the headline is “The passing of a legend.”

I was introduced to Tom a few years ago. He was sitting on a bench at field level during the Prep Bowl at the Metrodome, alongside Brainerd coach Ron Stolski. Ron introduced me to Tom, and we chatted about Fairmont and the surrounding area. My Iowa hometown, Graettinger, is a short drive south of Fairmont so we had lots to talk about. Tom even invited me to stop by his house whenever I was driving through town. 

Tom was known all over the state, and he will be missed.

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