Ingrid Lahey loved to share her passion for volleyball and for life itself.
A longtime teacher, coach and on-court official, she led youth teams from across Chatham-Kent for nearly a half century – and spent most of her career at Wallaceburg District Secondary School.
Lahey, 73, died Dec. 18 at her Chatham home after a long battle with colon cancer.
She is survived by her husband of 48 years, Dale, as well as their sons Cory and Scott, daughters-in-law Jen and Megan, and four grandchildren.
“Besides all her achievements teaching and coaching, she was a great friend to many people and a wonderful mother and wife,” Dale said.
A celebration of her life will be held in late spring or early summer.
Born in Berlin in 1949, Lahey (nee Boehnke) came to Canada when she was three and grew up in the Mississauga area.
She played volleyball at the University of Windsor and was the Lancers’ female athlete of the year in 1970-71.
A moment of silence was held before matches this week at Ursuline College Chatham and Chatham Christian High School. She coached at both.
Ingrid and Dale were a “blessing” at Chatham Christian, where they helped to build the volleyball program, athletic director Sharon Smith said.
The couple loved to socialize, she said. Everywhere the Flames went, people knew the Laheys and had fun stories to share.
“Ingrid was a fierce competitor but loved the student-athletes so much,” Smith said. “She was so interested in hearing about their lives and the other coaches’ lives outside of volleyball and beyond high school too. We often swapped camping stories with each other.
“She and Dale have been so dedicated, passionate and enthusiastic especially about volleyball but about life as well. She had the best huge smile and awesome laugh that just wrapped around you and was contagious.”
Ingrid Lahey spent the majority of her 26-year teaching career at Wallaceburg District Secondary School, where the Spirit Award is named for her.
“Ingrid touched the lives of thousands of students and staff,” former WDSS colleague Gayle Stucke wrote online. “She will be missed by many and never forgotten.”
In 1995, Lahey coached OFSAA gold medallists in badminton and girls’ volleyball at WDSS. That Tartans volleyball team was inducted into the Wallaceburg Sports Hall of Fame in 2014.
The Hall of Fame had previously honored Lahey twice for her work as a coach and a builder.
“The volleyball world has lost a good one as have her family, friends, colleagues and alumni, all of which blend together,” former Windsor Lancers volleyball coach Marge Holman wrote online. “Once you met Ingrid, you would never forget her.”
Ingrid and Dale co-founded the original Chatham Ballhawks volleyball program in 1975.
“(They) have been instrumental in the volleyball associated with the Chatham-Kent area since then,” Ballhawks president Clancy O’Hara said. “… Dale and Ingrid always still maintained a willingness to see the club meet its mission.”
Lahey won numerous championships with her high school and travel teams during a 45-year coaching career. She captained two women’s teams to provincial titles during a playing career that lasted more than 30 years.
She received the OFSAA Leadership in School Sport Award in 1992. She also co-founded a Chatham boys’ volleyball spring league that’s still running.
“Ingrid was especially so well-regarded in the volleyball and badminton community,” Dale Lahey said, pointing to the many condolences online. “A common theme I notice there is her positive motivating attitude and big smile.”