Kevin Gerard Dumbach

In lieu of flowers: memorial contributions may be made to Cathedral Preparatory Athletic Fund in Coach Dumbach's honor. https://tinyurl.com/2xx2fzp2

Kevin Gerard Dumbach was born in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and raised in Glendale, Queens. The eldest of three children of George and Renate (née Holst), he graduated from St. Pancras School before gaining admission to Regis High School in Manhattan.

Kevin’s joy throughout his high school years was the track team, including cherished cross country meets at Van Cortlandt Park in the Bronx and a silver medal anchor leg for the two-mile relay at the Millrose Games.

Kevin subsequently earned a Bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, where he felt the full embrace of Southern hospitality. During this time he worked as a janitor at the basketball arena, Blue Heaven, so he could watch his classmate Michael Jordan practice and play.

He was eternally grateful to his cousins the Wallaces, who generously housed him while he earned his law degree from Touro College on Long Island. Working afterwards in the Queens District Attorney’s office for over a decade, Kevin had a passion for helping his city by prosecuting violent offenders and fighting domestic abuse.

In 1992 he married Laura McDermott of Jackson Heights, and in 1996 they welcomed a son, Thomas George. He spent every summer in Springs on the East End, where he taught Thomas to fish, crack lobsters, and enjoy sunsets with family and friends, much as George had taught Kevin years earlier.

Kevin joined the New York City Department of Education in 2001, having earned his Master’s degree at night through Queens College. He spent his entire teaching career at PS 113, including more than two decades as a physical education teacher, shaping the lives of countless children and colleagues. It was in this role that he met Lisa Marinaro and her two daughters, Katelyn and Ashley McGovern, beginning a relationship that would last until his death.

For countless years, Kevin devoted his life to youth sports, first as a baseball coach and later as Parish Athletic Representative at his beloved St. Pancras. He was widely known for his patience with young athletes and for his announcing at local basketball and volleyball games, where he knew how to make every child feel like a star. He later became a track coach at St. Andrew Avelino in Whitestone, his son’s school, where he helped Thomas to develop his own passion for running. Until recently, Kevin had volunteered as an official and committee member for CYO track and field.

He later became a coach at his son’s beloved alma mater, Hunter College High School in Manhattan. In 2023, he achieved his lifelong dream of becoming a head coach in the CHSAA, the Catholic school league in which he himself had competed for Regis. For the past two years he worked tirelessly to rebuild the cross country and track program at Cathedral Preparatory School in Elmhurst, recently completing his second indoor track season with the boys there.

Kevin was grateful for the faith community he found in several Catholic parishes during his lifetime, including his native St. Pancras of Glendale and the neighboring Sacred Heart; St. Josaphat of Bayside; Most Holy Trinity of Amagansett; and St. Therese of Montauk. He is survived by his mother, Renate (Renee); his sisters, Ellen Stacom and Diane (Dede) Coy; his son, Thomas, and stepdaughters, Katelyn and Ashley; his lady-friend of many years, Lisa; his brothers-in-law, Gary Coy, Peter J. Stacom, Robert Lincer, and Robert McDermott, and his sister-in-law, Beth Kaplan McDermott; his nieces and nephews, Taylor, Devin, Peter, Gillian, Nicholas, and Rebecca; and the innumerable others whose lives he shaped through his tireless generosity.

Visitation for Kevin will be held Thursday, February 27, 2025 and Friday, February 28, 2025 from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Werst & LaBella Funeral Home, 71-41 Cooper Ave, Glendale, NY 11385. A funeral mass will occur Saturday, March 1, 2025 from 9:30 AM to 10:15 AM at St. Pancras Church, 72-22 68th St, Glendale, NY 11385. The committal service will occur Saturday, March 1, 2025 from 11:30 AM to 11:45 AM at St. Charles / Resurrection Cemeteries, 2015 Wellwood Ave, Farmingdale, NY 11735.