Spokane Lacrosse Community Mourns Loss of Brian O'Rourk

Brian O’Rourk, a founding board member for Spokane Youth Lacrosse and a lacrosse coach at two area high schools, is being fondly remembered by members of the local lacrosse community after dying in a plane crash last week in the mountains of North Idaho.

O’Rourk, 54, was known for wearing many hats, according to those who knew him best, including being a founding board member for the Chesterton Academy of Notre Dame, a Catholic high school in Hillyard, where he was the lacrosse coach and athletics director. He was also a board member for the Washington High School Boys Lacrosse Association, a boys’ lacrosse official who also trained high school referees in Spokane, and the coordinator for regional lacrosse tournaments.

“Brian was an amazing guy and someone I’ve worked with for over seven years, ever since I started in this position,” USA Lacrosse regional director Lyn Porterfield said. “I just saw him at Spokane’s youth tournament two weeks ago and had a long conversation around some initiatives he was working on. It’s just unbelievable that he’s gone.”

Josh Soehner, a local coach and treasurer of the board for Spokane Youth Lacrosse, described O’Rourk, a father of four, as a very unique and special person who was extremely active in the community.

“There aren’t people like him that come around that often,” Soehner told The Spokesman-Review. “It’s going to take more than one person to do all the things that he did for the community. Words can’t describe how much he will be missed. I will forever coach in his honor.”

Amanda Roggenbauer, a former Spokane Youth Lacrosse board president who worked with O’Rourk for eight years, said O’Rourk’s passion to grow lacrosse in the area was unmatched. His primary focus was always on growing the game.

“He knew how amazing having a strong lacrosse community can be, and he wanted that for Eastern Washington,” Roggenbauer said.

Another former board president, Allison Miller, said O’Rourk was always the cool head in the room.

“Brian was an incredible human being,” she said. “He was kind, respectful, thoughtful and principled in his decisions and he always had the kids’ best interests at heart.  When I served as president, he was my go-to if I felt like I needed direction or help in making a decision. We are all heartbroken about his death. What a loss for his family, lacrosse in Spokane, and the Spokane community at large.”

Chesterton’s board chairman, Zach Mallahan, admired O’Rourk’s willingness to take on any and all tasks that needed to get done, especially projects that benefitted kids.

“Brian is one of those guys that it will probably take 6-8 people to replace and do the things that he was involved with,” Mallahan said. “He was so zealous, so passionate, and he had so many irons in the fire at the same time. In our Catholic faith, we say parents are primary educators of children. He lived that. He would do anything for his kids.”

O’Rourk was also a highly respected lacrosse coach at Gonzaga Preparatory School in Spokane, serving as a volunteer assistant.

School principal Derek Duchesne issued the following statement on behalf of the school’s community:

“Brian O’Rourk was dedicated to Catholic education and coaching lacrosse. He coached lacrosse for over a decade at Gonzaga Prep as a volunteer and was committed to coaching a number of youth lacrosse teams throughout his lifetime. The joy he evoked, the humor he shared, and the knowledge he passed down to athletes and adults, will be missed."

"I think he found joy in watching other people succeed,” said Cian Peterson, Gonzaga Prep Lacrosse’s offensive coordinator. “That’s his legacy.”

Originally from New York, O’Rourk attended the U.S. Air Force Academy and was a member of the lacrosse team. He later served in the Air Force Reserve for five years as an Air Force Academy admissions liaison officer and eventually moved to Spokane, where he met his wife, Therese.

“He lived his core values. If he saw an injustice, he’d make sure to call it out,” Mallahan said. “I saw him get emotional when thinking about building up teams and our community, bringing up those on the lower end who needed it the most. That’s who he was.”

“He served many in his community, not only through sports, but also through his church and his kids’ schools,” Miller said. “Brian will be greatly missed, but he left an indelible impact on his community, particularly the adults and kids he worked with in lacrosse.”

As a former Air Force pilot who later became a commercial pilot for FedEx, O’Rourk always loved to fly. Two of his four children were with him in the crash but survived with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the Clearwater County Sheriff’s Office.

A memorial fund to honor O’Rourk’s memory has been established by Chesterton Academy to benefit the school’s athletics program. More information is available here.