Jacque LaPrarie, assistant football coach at Smithtown High School West, dies at 61
Jacque LaPrarie Sr. and his son, Jacque LaPrarie Jr., after a Smithtown West football game in 2023. LaPrarie Sr. was an assistant football coach at Smithtown West and a teacher in the district. Credit: LaPrarie Family
Jacque LaPrarie Sr. had a profound impact on the many young lives he influenced in his years as a coach and mentor. He was a beloved elementary school teacher for more than three decades, a standout football player and a respected high school football coach.
LaPrarie died suddenly at his Smithtown home on Monday, his wife, Cynthia LaPrarie, said. He was 61.
“He’s an incredible, beautiful soul,” Cynthia LaPrarie said.
Jacque LaPrarie was the assistant varsity football coach at Smithtown West for the past five years and taught physical education at Tackan Elementary School in Nesconset for 31 years. He was a star athlete at Sachem High School in baseball and football and was a Newsday All-Long Island football player in 1981, the year he graduated.
“He was an amazing athlete and a tremendous leader,” childhood friend Mark Dellecave said. “He was [known as] 'Gentleman Jack' because of his sincere and humble personality. He always had a big smile. Everyone loved Jacque.”
LaPrarie accepted a full athletic scholarship to Rutgers University, where he passed for 2,513 yards in his first two years before moving to the safety position for two years. He was the first recipient of the Loyal Knight Award, presented to a Rutgers player who distinguishes himself by sacrificing personal goals for the team.
“I was in awe of the way he raised our children," Cynthia LaPrarie said. "And he was so kind to everyone. My son is a carbon copy of his dad, humble and hardworking.”
His son, Jacque LaPrarie Jr., was named to the All-Long Island football team in 2022 as an outstanding wide receiver and defensive back for Smithtown West.
“We are best friends forever,” LaPrarie Jr. said. “We have done everything together since I learned to walk. We were always playing a sport. No matter what he was doing he dropped it to spend time with me. There couldn’t be a stronger connection between a father and son.”
LaPrarie Jr. played football at Stony Brook University and transferred in January to play at SUNY Cortland, a move his father fully supported.
“He wanted me to be happy," his son said. "He never missed a game in every sport and always focused on the positive.”
Rich Cimini, the Jets beat reporter for ESPN and a former Newsday sports writer, went to high school with the elder LaPrarie.
“I covered all of his [high school] games working for the local weekly paper, the Ronkonkoma Review,” said Cimini, who also served as the editor-in-chief for the Sachem Harbinger, the school newspaper. “Jacque was clearly the best player on the football team. He was the entire show, fun to watch. He was a good looking guy, dated the homecoming queen, and was everybody’s All-American. He was soft spoken and quiet and always treated me professionally when I interviewed him.”
LaPrarie was inducted into the Sachem Athletic Hall of Fame earlier this month.
LaPrarie was born in Bay Shore in 1963 and his family later moved to Farmingville. He graduated from Rutgers with a bachelor’s degree in sports management and earned a master’s degree at what was then SUNY Stony Brook.
After college, LaPrarie became an accomplished flag football player. He won acclaim from teammates and opponents as a talented quarterback in the men’s Long Island Flag Football League, where he led the Park Bench and Main Event Titans to numerous national and Long Island championships, including three titles played at Giants Stadium.
LaPrarie continued to represent Rutgers as an annual speaker at the Suffolk County Football Coaches Association dinner, honoring the top team in the county with the Rutgers Trophy.
“He was the heartbeat of the LaPrarie family,” his brother-in-law Scott King of Holbrook said. “Whenever someone needed something, they could count on Jacque.”
To pay for schooling, LaPrarie also worked as a bartender at the Park Bench, Planet Dublin, Tiki Bar and most recently on summer weekends at Dublin Deck.
“A legendary bartender, which helped him get his master’s degree,” Dellecave said. “He was a people person — a conversationalist — but better yet a great listener. He was so easygoing and people felt so comfortable talking to him.”
He is survived by his mother, Rosemary LaPrarie, of Farmingville, daughters Dana Maselli of Greenlawn and Jenny Pawluk of Holbrook, three sisters, Jeannine LaPrarie of Rocky Point, Laurette LaPrarie of Farmingville and Michelle King of Holbrook, and four grandchildren.
Visitation will be Sunday from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Branch Funeral Home at 2115 Jericho Tpke. in Commack, with a Mass on Monday at 11 a.m. at the Church of St. Joseph, at 59 Church St. in Kings Park.
Gregg Sarra is Newsday's high school sports editor and has been on the beat since the mid-1980s.