Garrett T. Reagan, retired coach of Hingham hockey team; at 67
When Garrett T. Reagan retired in March after 26 years as head coach of the Hingham High hockey team, it was with little fanfare. He waited until after the team's year-ending banquet to break the news to players.
He "put his heart and soul into the team," said Tony Messina, his longtime assistant coach.
But in his usual modest fashion, Mr. Reagan wanted little personal recognition for his program's success as he exited. "He deflected it all to the kids, all the time," Messina said.
Mr. Reagan, who led the Hingham Harbormen to three state titles, six Super Eight appearances, more than 400 wins, and four team sportsmanship awards during his career, died of a heart attack June 17 in his home in Scituate. He was 67.
Born in Cambridge, Mr. Reagan grew up playing hockey with his twin brother, Robert, on the ponds of Belmont. The pair played for Belmont High School when it was "a force to be reckoned with," said his wife, Judy.
At Boston College, a separated shoulder halted Mr. Reagan's competitive playing days. He graduated in 1963 and received a master's degree in business administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1965. A year after graduating from BC, he met Judy Moores, a senior at Newton College, while out with a group of friends. They married in 1966.
Mr. Reagan worked as a stock broker and financial adviser before realizing that he wanted to teach, his wife said. He briefly joined the faculty of Wentworth Institute of Technology in the 1980s before moving to Emmanuel College, where he taught economics for 17 years.
He likened teaching to his role on the ice, first as a coach of area youth teams before he took the reins of the Harbormen.
"A big part of coaching was teaching the boys in the broad spectrum of the word," his wife said. And when it came time for his players to select colleges, their families often sought his advice.
Mr. Reagan led Hingham to Division 2 state titles in 1992 and '97. The following season, he took Hingham independent, scheduling some of the toughest opponents in the state in hope of keeping the town's talented athletes from being recruited to other independent schools. Hingham became a Division 1 team and captured the state title again in 2001. That year he was named the Globe's Coach of the Year.
"His style was sort of old school, with a big bite and a wonderful heart," said Dante Muzzioli, coach of Belmont High School's hockey team and a longtime friend.
The honors he was proudest of, however, were four James F. Mulloy Sportsmanship Awards, a team honor that was judged in part by fewest total penalties, Messina said.
Only a few months into retirement, Mr. Reagan was reveling in his other passion: spending time with family, including golfing with his wife and his daughter and son-in-law, Jennifer and Jeff Robinson of Newton. They celebrated his birthday last month.
In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Reagan leaves two sisters, Patricia Savage of Needham and Margaret of Denver; and two brothers, Kevin of Centerville and Robert of Medford.
A funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. today in St. Mary of the Nativity Church in Scituate. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery in Scituate. 