Friends, family, colleagues, and former players filled Monte Vista Chapel early Friday morning to remember the legacy of Steve Feaver.

Turlock High’s founding father of aquatic sports was memorialized fittingly as letterman jackets spanning several decades lined the seats of the chapel while a blue and gold flower arrangement in the form of a Bulldog Block-T sat in front of the stage.

Steve’s brother Cliff Feaver, son Ryan Feaver, and daughter Erika Jimenez joined former colleague and rival coach Brent Bohlender as each shared their personal experiences with the man known by most in the Turlock community as Coach.

“Most of you knew my dad as Coach. Those of you who had the honor and privilege to play for him most likely looked up to him, not only as a coach but as a mentor. Some of you may have even looked to him as a father figure,” Feaver’s daughter Erika Jimenez said. “I feel incredibly lucky that I got to call Coach Feaver my dad.”

“The last time I saw Steve was at the All-Star game at Turlock High School. He came onto the deck as he always had done with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye,” longtime friend and colleague Brent Bohlender said. “This is how I want to remember Steve. It was no different than what he had always done, but it's what I am going to miss most about him.”

A mainstay at Turlock High, Feaver coached for 39 years and is credited with introducing the sport of water polo to the area.

Feaver is survived by his wife and high school sweetheart Virginia, his daughter Erika Jimenez and her husband Nick, his son Ryan Feaver and his wife Karla, his grandchildren Natalie and Noelle Jimenez and Molly and Charlie Feaver, as well as his brother Cliff Feaver.

Memorial gifts may be made to the First United Methodist Church, 1660 Arbor Way, Turlock, CA 95380; the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, 1500 Rosecrans Ave., Suite 200, Manhattan Beach, CA 90266, pancan.org; or Sequoia Lake Conference of YMCAs, 49716 Highway 180, Miramonte, CA 93641.