St. Clair College has remembered Bernie "Chico" Labute.
The college held a celebration of life ceremony at the Sports Plex on Wednesday.
Family members were joined by some of Labute's colleagues, friends and players.
As heard on AM800 sports last month, Labute passed away suddenly at the age of 54.
He was an architect of the school's baseball program and joined as an assistant coach for the men's varsity team in the summer of 2012.
Labute was then hired as a full-time administrator by the college's Athletic Department in 2013.
Taylor Pappin attends the college and played ball for Labute.
He says Labute had passion beyond belief.
"It didn't matter what the situation was he was always in the game, ready to voice his opinion and let you know what he was thinking, it was great," says Pappin. "It's hard to put into words like how to describe him because you had to be there to see it. He just made the game of baseball so much fun."
.@StClairCollege & @stclairsaints1 are remembering Bernie “Chico” LaBute. A ceremony is taking place at the Sports Plex. LaBute passed away earlier this year. He coached the Saints Men’s Baseball team. #cklw @AM800News pic.twitter.com/OIzEn4JHb0
— Rob Hindi (@rhindi800) February 28, 2019
Kyle Breitner graduated from the college and played ball for Labute.
He says Labute looked after his players.
"He brought a lot of students to this college from outside of this area and he always made sure to check up on them, make sure they were okay, took care of them in classes, any kind of way he could take care of them, he would" says Breitner. "He knew they were far from home, made sure to help them out anyway he can."
Labute won a national championship with the Saints along with six regular season and provincial championships.
His family has set up a scholarship fund in honour of Chico that will support St. Clair College students.