Remembering Coach Doug Cody - RIP 04/09/2014

From Doug's Facebook page: Sadly, Doug passed away on April 9th, 2014. A memorial service will be held at Hardage-Giddens Funeral Home (127 Blanding Blvd, Orange Park, FL), Saturday 04/12/14. The family is accepting flowers or in lieu of flowers, donations can me made in Doug's memory to Life Legal Defense. Rest in Peace, Doug.

From Ford's Facebook post on Doug's page:
fm: Dana. I hope you and your family will not mind my sharing. Our hearts are breaking. We are so very sorry for your loss. We extend our prayers for His peace today and the tomorrows.

When I wrote this post for our blog I did not include what Doug would later share... I do now.
Doug expressed to me that it was not chance that brought he and Alyzabeth together that first day. He said this with such conviction that he had to have noticed my perplexed expression. And then he shared his heart.
Doug told me that God had brought he and Alyzabeth together. That he very clearly felt God's hand take his own and place it on Alyzabeth's shoulder. Their time together was with a purpose. A purpose greater than golf but a purpose forged through their practice time together. Doug told me my daughter was special. Our gift from God. Nurture it. Protect it. Love it.
Just as he did. Just as God does. The only thing Doug failed to say was just how special he was as well...
We love you Coach.
Link to Ford's Blog post of April 19, 2012.
Coach asked AA to write out her goals; this is the sheet he gave her and her answers at age six:

We wrote about Coach Doug occasionally and took a few photos. Here's another post on our blog from early 2012.
Doug took this photo of Daddy Caddie walking away after a lesson (January 2012):

As you can tell, we loved this man. He spent alot of time each week with AA over three years. He cared about her, called us after every tournament to ask how she did and spoke to Ford about the next steps. Big plans for AA. We will follow Coach Doug's plan.

 Obituary:  CODY Douglas Roy Cody, age 72, passed away April 9, 2014. He was born in West Hollywood, California and had been a resident of Orange Park since 2010. Mr. Cody was a member of the PGA since 1996. Survivors include his wife, Dana Cody, son J. Cody, daughters L. Starr and T. Cody, step-son J. Townsend, brother R. Cody, sister A. Richardson, and 5 grandchildren. Memorial service will be held Saturday, April 12, 2014 at 3:00 PM in the Chapel of Hardage-Giddens Rivermead Funeral Home, 127 Blanding Blvd. Orange Park, FL 32073, (904)264-2481, with Pastor Eric Jaffe officiating.
Added after Doug's funeral: We all cried, so many kind words. Especially when the minister met AA before the service and mention right off how God brought AA and Doug together. So sweet. AA cried when he spoke of Doug's special love for her. So after several people spoke, all but two mentioned AA. Doug told everyone about her. It was the first time we saw AA show the true deep emotional feelings with tears. So hard to see your daughter cry. But we thought it was best to bring her; we don't regret that. In a way, we were encouraged to see her cry as she does not show her emotions. Coach Doug taught AA so many lessons about life, all relating to golfing but really about life. Thank you Coach.