MANCHESTER, NH – The Queen City lost one of its greats on Nov, 09, 2015, when Hubert “Hubie” B. McDonough Jr, 83, died peacefully at home with his adoring family by his side.
A lifelong Manchester resident, Hubie was born on March 3, 1932, the only son of Hubert B. and Hazel (Howell) McDonough Sr. He was a proud graduate of St. Joseph Grammar School as well as Central High School.
Hubie served in the U.S. Army, stationed in Germany in the mid 1950s. Upon returning, he earned his bachelor’s degree at Saint Anselm College in 1958. Following in his father’s footsteps, Hubie taught and mentored the city’s youth for more than 30 years. He began his career at Central High School, and two years later became one of the original educators at Memorial High School. While at Memorial he coached championship teams in baseball, football, and hockey.
Hubie grew up playing pond hockey and on the Dorr’s Pond rink in Manchester when no organized hockey existed in the area.
He played for UNH in 1952-1953 on natural outdoor ice when the players were known as “The Outsiders.” In the late 1950’s, Hubie helped organize and played for the “Manchester Beavers” who played other teams on natural ice surfaces in NH and northern Massachusetts. Hubie played for the Manchester Tam-O-Shanters through the 1960s after the JFK Memorial Coliseum was built in Manchester.
In the early 1960s, Hubie worked with other founders to form the Manchester Regional Youth Hockey Association (MRYHA).
During 1967-1968, Manchester Memorial High School formed their first hockey team and Hubie was named head coach. Hubie continued as head coach for over 16 years and in 1978 his team won the State High School Hockey Championship – the first for the City of Manchester.
Hubie has also been awarded the “NH Sportswriters Achievement Award,” voted “Coach of the Year” by sportswriters and sportscasters, received the Union Leader-Walter Smith Coaches award and he has been inducted into the “Queen City Athletic Hall of Fame.”
Although he truly enjoyed coaching his sons as Crusaders alongside David “Stats” Elliott, football was always his passion and he cherished his years together with Coach Bob Chabot. His bon-fires and pep rallies conducted in the ’60s and ’70s were legendary. Many will also remember his escapades behind the plate, and behind the microphone. He was both an umpire and emcee extraordinaire. “Coach Hubie” was a multi-gallon blood donor to the Red Cross Blood Bank. He was a man of integrity, patriotism and great humor. When he was passionate about a cause he was all in. He lived a good life, and the number of people who owe the path of life they chose, in part, to his influence, mentorship and guidance is boundless.
He is survived by his loving wife of 55 years, Lorraine (Jutras) and their three children. Hubert McDonough III (wife Amy), Bronwyn McDonough, Kyle McDonough (wife Jill) and six grandchildren: Hayley, Ryan, Luke, Jack, Sawyer, and Finn; a sister, Barbara Davis; and numerous extended family who all loved him very much. He was preceded in death by two sisters, Ann O’Brien and Jane Frink.
Services: There are no calling hours. A Mass of Christian burial will begin at 10 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2015 at Saint Anselm College Abbey Chapel, 100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester. Burial will follow at Saint Joseph Cemetery, Bedford.
In lieu of flowers a pint of blood may be donated to the Red Cross, or a gift can be made in his memory to Memorial High School c/o Hubie McDonough Scholarship Fund.
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