Celebrating the life and legacy of

John "Coach" Wise

He was #76 in the playbook,

but will forever be #1 in our hearts.

It is with profound sadness and disbelief that we share the sudden passing of John "Coach" Wise, who left us on 10-20-2025 at the early age of 75.

John was proudly born in Detroit, Michigan on Friday the 13th, 1950. He grew up in Dearborn Heights, Michigan with his parents, John and Frances, and younger sister Viki. He met his best friend and the love of his life, Sue, at the University of Detroit, and they married in 1973. John and Sue went on to have two children; Andrea and Eric, who will always be God's special gift to them.

From the moment John was born, he had a larger than life personality. He was always the life of the party, and his enormous energy and contagious laugh filled up every space he entered. Everyone knew when Coach Wise was in the building. 😊 He lived every day to the fullest and was unapologetically true to himself no matter the time or place. 😊 Coach Wise knew more people and touched more lives than we could ever have known or imagined.

John got his Bachelor's degree at the University of Detroit, while playing football and baseball. Go Titans! He also pursued and achieved a Master's degree in Education. John taught Physical Education and was the Head football Coach in Napoleon, Michigan (Go Pirates!) before being laid off in 1980, due to the struggling state of the Michigan economy. John and Sue decided to move their family west and landed in Henderson, Nevada. There he spent the majority of his career teaching Physical Education and coaching football and baseball at Basic High School (Go Wolves!). John's passion in life was definitely coaching! He inspired, motivated, and encouraged every player, teammate, and coach that he had the privilege and honor of working with and playing with.

John retired and moved to Texas to take on his most important title in life, "Papa," chosen by Braelyn, his first grandchild, and continued lovingly by Avery and Cason through the years. His 3 grandchildren kept him very busy in retirement with all of their activities, school events, and appointments. In retirement, John also enjoyed biking with his buddies in his neighborhood, playing Uker with friends, golfing, traveling to visit friends, family, and granddogs, going out on dates with Sue, and spending as much time as possible in his favorite rocking chair watching ESPN and all of his favorite sports teams. Go Blue! Go Lions! Go Tigers! Go Knights!

John "Coach" Wise was a fun-loving, spontaneous, energetic, sweet, caring, and loving husband. He was also a superhero dad, a generous and playful Papa, a devoted brother, a supportive and kind father-in-law, a loyal friend, a dedicated and inspirational coach/teacher, and one of the finest human beings ever to walk this Earth.

John loved to nickname people, as he himself was nicknamed through the years. John (Coach, Johnny J, Wall, Wally) is survived by his wife Sue (Susan E), his 2 children Andrea (The Allest of All Al's) and Eric (Shoe, Lo, E), his sister Viki (Beldon E Zyder Z), his son-in-law Trevis (T), his daughter-in-law Chrystal (C), his 3 grandchildren Braelyn (Bug, B), Avery (Aves), and Cason (Auh). John knew and is survived by more family and friends than we could ever list. He knew everyone's name, but if you received a nickname, you held a very special place in his heart.

Coach Wise started his coaching career on the field of St. Mary's of Redford (Go Rustics!) in 1972. Thirty-six years later he left his voice, his encouragement, and imprint in the hearts of the Basic High School Wolves. He will be missed more than words can express.

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Basic High School Football program in honor of Coach Wise.

You can also honor and remember Coach by stopping at your local donut shop or ice cream parlor and enjoy a sweet treat. 😊

John's service will be held at:

St. Helen Catholic Church

2700 E. University Avenue

Georgetown, TX, 78626

Thursday, October 30th

Rosary: 1:30pm

Funeral Mass: 2:00pm