Mrs.Cougar Kathy Maly, Mourned by Family and La Marque Community

“Mrs. Cougar,” Kathy Maly, mourned by family and La Marque community
THE LA MARQUE COMMUNITY lost one of its stalwarts when Kathy Maly passed away on
Thursday night at the age of 75.
Maly was the unbreakable chain of the La Marque High School athletic department for over
four decades, having a front row seat to the highs and lows of the Cougars’ athletic programs,
including the football team’s five state championships and the softball team’s 1997 state title
along with dozens of other district, regional and state titles that the school amassed while she
became known as “Mrs. Cougar.”
“So many thoughts and too few words right now,” said former La Marque head football
coach/athletic director Bryan Erwin, who led the Cougars to state 4A, Division II championships
in 2003 and 2006.
Maly, who was a native of La Marque and graduated from Sam Houston State University, began
her career in education as a teacher for the hearing impaired before joining the school’s
athletic department, where she served the majority of her 35 years with LMISD.
While she served as secretary to coaches like Erwin, Hugh Massey, Alan Weddell, Bill Sinches,
Rick Carpenter, Carrie Augsten, Julian Byrd and Larry Nowotny, Maly’s lasting legacy was the
way she connected with the student-athletes that used La Marque High School as a springboard
to success in not only collegiate and professional sports, but also as pillars of communities. She
was the ultimate team mother who knew how to encourage students while also knowing how
to be stern but fair.
“She was a wonderful woman who looked after and cared about so many,” said Patrick Faour, a
former La Marque High School baseball player who eventually became an administrator and
teacher at the school.”
Added Charles Jenkins, who played football at La Marque and Baylor University, “She was a true
sweetheart.”
Maly was married 56 years to her husband, Bennie Maly. She leaves behind two daughters,
Janet and Susan, two grandchildren and one great grandchild.
A public viewing will be held at Crowder Funeral Home, 401 Texas Avenue in La Marque, from
5:00pm to 8:00pm on Sunday. Services will be held at Trinity Lutheran Church, 2024 12 th
Avenue in La Marque, Monday at 10:00am.
“She had a connection with every kid that came through the athletic office,” said former
Cougars football player and Rice University standout Dwayne Dever.