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Marshall community mourns two legends,
Dr. Soo Bock Choi, Rick
Huckabay
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| Kimberly
Hudson Brooks with Dr. Choi during Homecoming
2005 |
Dr.
Soo Bock Choi,
Distinguished Professor Emeritus of International Politics,
died on March 2 at age 78. A memorial service was held March
15 in the Campus Christian Center chapel.
The
Korean-born Dr. Soo Bock Choi, who founded the International
Student Club in 1963, retired 10 years ago as a
Distinguished Professor Emeritus in international politics.
He began teaching at Marshall in 1962.
After Choi served in the Korean military for five years,
earning a Bronze Star from the United States Army in the
process, he moved to the United States and devoted his life
to personal and communal growth.
During his 32 years of service to the Marshall community,
Choi was involved with countless campus organizations,
including the Pre-Law Program, the University Honors
Program, the SGA and the East-West Cultural Exchange. Last
fall, Choi became the inaugural member of the International
Program's hall of fame.
The
family requests that in lieu of flowers and gifts
contributions be made to the Marshall University Foundation,
Inc., and designated for the Soo Bock Choi International
Festival Fund. Choi founded the MU International Festival
shortly after beginning his career at Marshall in 1963. He
recently was named to the International Programs Hall of
Fame.
A web
page honoring Choi has been established on the MU
International Festival Web site at
http://www.marshall.edu/cip/festival/choi/.
Excerpts from an article by Matt Gajtka, Parthenon reporter. |
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Herd mourns
Huck
by Anthony Hanshew
The Herald-Dispatch
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File photo / The
Herald-Dispatch
Rick Huckabay compiled a
129-59 mark in his six years
as Marshall coach. |
Game night was show time, but for Rick
Huckabay, it was no act.
The engaging basketball coach dedicated his professional
career to serving youth through the sport he loved.
Diagnosed with cancer, Huckabay continued the path into
the final month of his life, leading Simsboro High
School into the Louisiana State High School playoffs.
Basketball communities in both the Tri-State and
Louisiana mourned Huckabay's passing on Friday, when the
former Marshall University men's coach died of cancer in
Christus Schumpert Hospital in Shreveport, La. He was
60.
"Huck was one of those exciting coaches, high energy,
who brought Marshall fans some of their greatest moments
in basketball," Marshall athletic director Bob Marcum
said. "I think fans remember him as a person who won
games, created a lot of enthusiasm with fans and had
that 'X' amount of showmanship about him."
Marcum quickly added, however, that showmanship didn't
equal a lack of substance. Huckabay was a coach first,
who cut his teeth as an assistant at Louisiana State
under Hall of Fame coach Dale Brown.
"Sometimes when you say 'flamboyant,' it overshadows
what he was really hired to do, and that was to coach
basketball, win games and graduate your players," Marcum
said. "I don't want for one minute to give the
impression that he wasn't a really good basketball
coach, which he really was.
"His first love was to coach basketball, but he was able
to see the big picture which was more than on the
floor."
Huckabay, who lived in Ruston, La., amassed a 129-59
record in six seasons at Marshall, from 1983 to 1989,
leading the Thundering Herd to three NCAA tournament
appearances and a berth in the NIT. Career records and
statistics, impressive as they were, hardly captured
Huckabay's legacy.
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