Hey Matt. Sorry to hear about Coach. I cried. Havent seen him in 25 or so years and it hit me hard. Just like he did as my most influential coach of my career. And i had some hall of fame coaches. He was the best. Amazing how he got us to do things his way. He made us all tough as nails. We were never outworked by our opponents. Matt your Dad was also a Dad to thousands of young people and had a profound affects on so many. God bless you and your family. RIP Coach. I Love You. Jon

I first knew George as a coach. He was a legend in the world of girl’s AAA high school soccer. Under his guidance, Snohomish was always a feared opponent. George’s teams embodied his personality; hard-nosed, hard-working, relentless, and passionate.

My freshman year of college, I fell madly in love with George’s son, Matt. And for the next 6 years, I had the privilege of spending every holiday, birthday, vacation, and weekend with the 2 of them. It was hard not to adore George. He was incredibly unique; I loved his competitiveness, his sense of adventure, his quirky sense of humor, his youthful spirit, and his self-discipline.

George loved sports and the outdoors. At the time, he was in his 50’s; but he ran circles around Matt & I. Coaching, soccer, golf, skiing, card games - whatever he did, he took it to the limit. He never missed an opportunity to take us camping, fishing, water skiing, sledding, hiking. He was always up for an adventure.

George was a feisty straight shooter. He would sit in the stands during my college soccer games keeping our opponent and the referee in check. “You booger eating moron, pull your head out of your ass!” Awkward? Sometimes. Hilarious? Often. Honest? Always.

George was the epitome of charisma. Rough on the outside sugar sweet on the inside. Whatever and whomever he loved; he loved them completely. He was an inch wide and mile deep. To his loved ones, he gave them his absolute everything. Giving, almost to a fault.  

George had a unique and beautiful relationship with Matt. Thick as thieves. Father & son, but also best friends. I will never forget the sound of those two -- gut laughing. George and Matt; they didn’t just smile with their mouth – their entire face smiled when laughed. It was entirely contagious.

George, you were like a second father to me. Your love, support, and friendship will forever live inside my heart. I am eternally grateful for our time together. I will be seeing you someday and when I do, it is game on. I want a cribbage tournament rematch and another one of your grilled burgers. ;)

RIP my sweet & sour. Thank you for the cherished memories.

Sheralyn

Thank you Matt for being such a dedicated son for your father, George Fowler. Reading through the comments on your Facebook page, I see how he touched so many lives over the years. And of course he touched mine. As high school and college buddies, he and I (and the third of our group, Skip Failor) were rarely apart during those years. So many memories of George are indelible with me: awkward teenage years in Bellingham, WA; working together one summer on a commercial purse sein fishing boat in SE Alaska; breaking away to Seattle for the World’s Fair, to California for the 1962 Rose Bowl, to Portland for a Joan Baez concert; to rugby matches at other colleges; occasional weekend keg parties; and just “hanging” with a man I always admired and respected.

Skip and I called him by his childhood nickname, “Jig” which he grumbled about but secretly liked. Jig was a thoughtful and sometimes impulsive young man. Strong not just physically but emotionally. I talked him into going mountain climbing with me in the Cascades when we were juniors in college, but he ran into a serious, life-threatening situation. Near the summit, he fell on the glacier and careened downward, out of control--stopping literally (I’m not exaggerating) with his boots hanging over the lip of a very deep crevasse. When I reached him, I realized that he hadn’t been able to arrest his slide using his ice axe because he had dislocated his shoulder in the fall. Big problem. Once I got him off the glacier and secured on solid ground, I ran down the mountain to get help from the Forest Service for an evacuation. After many hours getting the rescue team back up slope to evacuate Jig, guess who we encountered on the high trail of the mountain? Jig! He had a somewhat sheepish look on his face and said “What’s up?” He was able to secured his arm to his side somehow and was walking slowly back down, steady and determined—but slower than usual. That was so George. And that’s the buddy I will always miss.

My name is Barbara Fowler Slater, I am George’s older and only sibling. I was an only child for 12 ½ years and was NOT happy in that role. What I wanted more than anything (even a horse or Collie dog) was a brother or sister. I, not infrequently, confronted my parents on their lack of cooperation in this matter! Having dinner one evening shortly after my 12th birthday, my father said, “Barbara, your mother has something to tell you…” and Mom proceeded to tell me that “in six months you’re going to have a baby brother or sister.” As I recall now, 75 years later, my reaction was to burst into tears and ask if I could to tell the neighbors and off I went. That occasion will always be one of my prized memories.

Vince & I really enjoyed reading your tribute to your Dad so much.  I'm sure he is just so proud of you, as we are.  Your words were beautiful, funny, sad and full of love.  Thanks for sharing your Dad with so many through out your life. We're so happy for the times we've had the opportunity to visit with him when we were out in Montana.  
We loved looking at each photo you posted ~ together they tell the story of what a family man he was.  It's nice to know how much you appreciated your Dad!  And God bless you & Michele & children for the way you took care of him in his final days ~ we all should be so lucky to have such devoted children & grandchildren! (We do!)
Just want you to know that we're thinking of all of you constantly and keeping you all in our prayers!  We love you so much!!

With much love,
Carol & Vince

I am thankful and blessed to have meet you! 

    Fowler had such an impact on my life! My stories about him started in the mid 80’s when I came to tryouts for his HS team as a freshman. I had all the fears in the world of playing for this legend - most from the stories my sister would tell me! I have so many stories, but these are the ones I will never forget... My freshman year I played Varsity filling my sisters shoes that just graduated, I only had one name “Hood”. I’m not sure if it was because he loved yelling that name or because he couldn’t remember my first name but I know it got yelled often. One day at practice we pissed him off and I clearly remember the sound of the clipboard in his hands flying through the air and slamming to the ground - we all looked at each other in fear and out of a bit of confusion as he told us he was done, leaving, and since we “didn’t want to practice”, he was going home! He left, and we gathered and tried to figure out what we were supposed to do (stay or go home). So our amazing upperclassmen decided we would practice without him. He came back and was so mad at us for staying. Later his mood changed and he was happy that we “fixed” our problems and that was the first time I saw his “soft” side and realized he was the kind of coach for me. He forgave us, never let us forget or get complacent, but he really loved coaching, not just the sport but the kid!

    He embarrassed me SO many times and every time was just another opportunity to make me think for myself or make me stronger. My all time favorite memory was my Junior year at SHS when we were running the dreaded Cooper Run in PE. I was peacefully sprinting my laps and I thought I was doing great, but Fowler got on the bull horn from the stadium stairs, in front of everyone and yelled “Hood, in order for you to haul ass, it’s gonna take two trips!” - we didn’t talk for a few days, but I speed up.

    The tough side of him is what most remember, but I have one more memory I will never forget. I was upset one day after school and I ran into George. I tried to play it off like my tears were no big deal (those emotions were not common for me back then) but he knew better. I had been basically stood up by my date for one of the school dances. I had the dress, I was so excited to go, and he knew it meant something to me (it was a rough year at school for me). He managed to talk his amazing son into taking me to the dance (thank you Matt). I was so thankful that he cared enough to try to make me feel connected and loved. 

    He was like my second dad for so many years. When I graduated HS I was lost and had no future direction, but that connection with George kept me linked to him and SHS. I had the joy and pleasure of doing my student teaching with him at SHS many years later and coaching with him for a few more years after that. I learned so much from him throughout that time. I believe I teach and coach with the sassy attitude, passion, and heart for every kid that he did. I really regret not seeing him before he passed, I believe he is watching all of us from heaven and probably saying something that God will need to censor. I love you George Fowler!

My heart goes out to your family Matt, thank you for sharing him with my family (The Hoods) back in the day. 

~ Brigitte (Hood) Wheeler

To Coach from Player

"You have really been a big influence on my life..."
"I admire you so much for who you are..."

Letter from player
"I like the way you push us on the field...and in the weight room..."

Letter from Player

Letter from Player

Retirement Wishes from Former Players

To Coach from Former Player

To Coach from Former Players