By Madyson Muresan
Co-Arts-&-Culture Editor

Cliff Wegner passed away peacefully on July 22 at the age of 72. A celebration of life ceremony was held in his honor at the gym in Randall Hall, where many filled the bleachers to remember Coach Wegs, including family, friends and former players. 

Wegner began his legacy at Clackamas Community College in 1993, where he was appointed as assistant coach for the men’s basketball team before taking the position of head coach in 1998. He led the Cougars to win three Northwest Athletic Conference championships through his program. But to those who filled the gym in Randall Hall on Sept. 13, Wegner was remembered by his passion for teaching, sense of humor and love of music. 

Table with memorabilia from Wegner’s time at CCC. Photos by Jackson Arterberry

The ceremony was opened by Jim Martineau, CCC’s athletic director and longtime friend of Wegner. He spoke of their shared love of basketball and Wegner’s sense of humor. 

“We were very close,” said Martineau. “We were definitely brothers. We had our moments like competitive people do, but he was a great man. He was a great instructor, great teacher, and you can see by the number of players that were here today, that the players respected him.”

“He was competitive, wanted the win, but he cared about the student athletes more than anything else. That was the thing that people didn’t realize,” said Martineau.

Following Martineau, Wegner’s daughter Alexis D’Asaro took the podium. She recounted the story of Wegner’s life and hobbies, which included sports, gardening, practicing guitar and playing with his dog, Scully. She also told stories of Wegner’s days teaching English at Oregon City High School, and of him coaching at the college.

D’Asaro giving her remarks at the podium.

“Some men might have softened up a child like me, but that wasn’t Clif’s way. He knew the world was cruel to people who were weak and too kind, and that I needed to be tough as hell to keep my head high,” D’Asaro said. “I noticed because of how aggressively he protected his players and his own soft side.”

D’Asaro concluded her speech with a short prayer and the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost, a favorite poet of Wegner’s.

The new head coach of the men’s basketball team and friend, Brian Stamme, spoke next about Wegner taking a chance on Stamme and giving him the opportunity to be his assistant coach.

“Between Coach [Wegner] and Coach Martineau, they carved out a way for me to make a living and to support my family, and I’m forever grateful for that opportunity that he took on me. A great friendship grew from there, and I was able to share so many special experiences with Coach,” Stamme said.

In Randall Hall, a group comes to celebrate the life of Coach Wegner.

Stamme continued to tell stories about their 14 years of friendship that they shared and the bond that grew from that. 

“He helped me grow in so many ways and helped shape me as the future leader of this program,” Stamme said. “The legacy that he created is not only trying to get the wins in the championships, but it’s lived out every day in the lives of all his former players and colleagues as they move on and grow in their lives. I’ll miss him dearly.” 

Polly Martineau gave her remarks during the open mic portion of the ceremony, sharing how it felt after Wegner’s passing. 

Polly giving her remarks at the podium.

“The first time I walked into the gym [since his passing] and I saw Justin, Brian, and the team, I was like, ‘Where’s Clif? He belongs here,’” said Polly, an academic and career coach at CCC. “It just kind of took me back the first time I walked in here because he’s been here for 27 years, he belongs with his guys. It’s gonna take a while to get used to that.”

Former player David Lyubchenko said Wegner changed his path in life. 

“Coach Wegs meant a lot to me because he was the first college coach who gave me a chance. I spent two years trying to make it into college, anywhere, and he was the first one who gave me a path,” said Lybuchenko. “And it wasn’t easy or anything, he wasn’t like, oh yeah, you can make the team. He made me do a basketball class to improve myself, and he made me do the open gyms to see if I could run with the guys.” 

Lyubchenko said that Wegner’s efforts in helping him hone in on his basketball skills led him to improve and keep pushing harder.

“And I think that really helped me move forward, setting myself up in terms of the goals I decided to pursue,” he said. Setting the highest expectations for myself, like he expected of me every time I went on the court. He meant a lot to me.”

In lieu of flowers, consider a donation to the Clackamas Community College Athletic Program in Coach Weg’s honor. To contribute, visit https://give.clackamas.edu/give-now and write in “Athletics Program” as the area to support. 

The family of Wegner has also compiled a Spotify playlist of all of Wegner’s favorite songs to remember him by. To listen, visit Wegner’s Favorites.