Butch Pedersen Death, Obituary – A memorial service will be conducted at West Branch High School for Coach Butch Pedersen on Tuesday, April 9, 2019. He passed away on Monday, April 3, 2019, after a courageous battle with cancer. Tuesday, April 9 is the day that the event will take place.

Pedersen had been West Branch High School’s head football coach ever since the school’s first ever football season, which took place in 1983. Because of his record-setting time as head coach at West Branch High School, he now holds the title of having the longest tenure of any head coach in the entire school’s history.

“as a community, we are grieving the loss of Coach Pedersen and all that he meant to our school district and athletics department,” said Marty Jimmerson, the superintendent of the West Branch Community School District. “We are grieving the loss of Coach Pedersen and all that he meant to our school district and athletics department.” Over his four decades as a head football coach, Butch had the opportunity to deal with hundreds of student-athletes, many of whom were profoundly impacted by his teachings.

On the football field, he had a reputation for never putting himself first, demanding a lot from his players, and deriving a great deal of satisfaction from the fact that he was portraying the community of West Branch in a positive way. This earned him the nickname “Mr. Football.” Everyone will grieve his passing in their own unique ways.”

The Pedersen family has requested that in lieu of creating a physical monument in Pedersen’s honor, members of the community make contributions to a memorial scholarship or a fund to cover future medical bills. Throughout the next few days, details regarding the memorial services will be made available to the general public.