-
(GISD | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)
Graham High School is starting a new tradition this season with their last regular season football game being named their “Heart of Graham” game.
This will be a special night each year where the community will rally around someone in need.
“Heart of Graham is designed by Graham Athletics to give back to a community member that has encountered a traumatic life misfortune,” Graham ISD said in a release.
This year, those being recognized by the community are coach John Tuggle and his family.
John’s wife Tracey passed away last week, after a hard fought eight-year battle with brain cancer.
Tracey’s fight began in November 2017. John called her after a basketball practice and noticed her speech sounded slurred. When he returned home, he saw her on the couch with the left side of her mouth drooping and she was having difficulty walking.
John rushed her to the emergency room in Decatur where she was then transferred to Fort Worth and admitted as a stroke patient. After many tests, it was revealed that Tracey had a mass in her right frontal lobe.
After having surgery to remove the mass it was diagnosed as Stage IV Glioblastoma. She began chemotherapy and radiation therapy shortly thereafter and was able to complete her radiation therapy in 2018.
She returned to teaching and the Tuggle family went on a cruise to celebrate their daughter’s graduation from high school, when Tracey lost function in her left side a second time.
She started a new treatment shortly thereafter and experienced many years of stability until 2023. A second tumor was found in her MRI scans that September and her physical activity started to decline.
However, through all of this, her faith never wavered and she was still able to see many things, such as both her children graduate high school, her daughter’s graduation from Texas A&M University-Commerce, her son’s graduation from Marine Corps bootcamp, her daughter’s wedding and the birth of her grandson.
For John though, he said that the community has always been warm and caring to him and his family during this time.
“I have been embraced by Graham,” John said. “Graham has made me feel like home. I have seen so many things, good and bad. But, God’s love is so much more.”
The Steers’ Heart of Graham game will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 7 at Newton Field. An opportunity to bid on silent auction items and make donations will be available during the game.
“Team Tuggle” T-shirts are currently being sold, with the deadline for purchase Monday, Nov. 2. Orders can be placed at teamtuggle2025.itemorder.com.
All proceeds from the effort will go to the Tuggle family.
For sponsorship information or any other questions regarding the effort, contact Casey Weil at 254-595-6404 or casey.weil@grahamisd.com; or Adam Arrington at 940-733-1112 or adam.arrington@grahamisd.com.
