Brent Deckert
March 2, 1969 ~ March 13, 2024
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of Brent Deckert on Wednesday, March 13, 2024, at Sanford USD Medical Center, in Sioux Falls.
Visitation for Mr. Deckert will be 10am to Noon, on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Heartland Funeral Home. Funeral Services will begin at 2pm, Sunday, March 17, 2024, at the Brandon Valley High School Gym, with viewing beginning at 1pm. A link to watch live… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQRQfMVP_CU. A private burial will happen at a later time. Staff and former players are asked to wear Lynx gear and will have reserved seating. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages you to donate to the Brent Deckert Memorial. A go-fund-me https://gofund.me/a645cea6 has been established for the Brent Deckert Scholarship for basketball players.
Brent Deckert was born March 2, 1969 in Wadena, MN. He grew up in Henning, MN with his sister Stacy and his brother Brian. His parents, Herman and Arlene Deckert, owned a grocery store for 36 years. As a way to avoid working in the store, Brent would sneak off to the gym to shoot hoops with his buddies. He always knew he wanted to be a basketball coach when he grew up. He went on to graduate from Henning High School in 1987 and then Moorhead State University in 1992 with a degree in education along with a coaching minor.
Brent began teaching in Sioux Falls in 1993 and his first stints as a coach were at Sioux Falls Washington and then Augustana College before ending up at Brandon Valley in 2000. His love for coaching the Lynx was evident to anyone who chatted with him. His passion for the game was year-round, there was never an off-season, and the gym was always open. Springs and summers included camps, workouts, tournaments, team trips, and piles and piles of Lynx t-shirts. It was rare to see Brent wearing something that didn’t say Lynx Basketball.
Brent and Jill met at a summer basketball camp in Yankton, SD where they coached opposing high school teams. It was competition at first sight. They were married in 1996 and they had 3 children: Caden, Jaksen, and Kennedi. Countless hours were spent in the gym as the kids grew up and they all shared his love of basketball. It was very special for him to coach Caden and Jaksen through their varsity careers and he did his very best to ‘sideline’ coach Kennedi through her final season. Without a doubt, it could be argued the highlight of his coaching career was winning the state championship in 2019. But Brent always said the best part for him as a coach was the time he spent with the kids. He loved the practices, film sessions, and giving away Subway cards for half-court makes. Sure, winning was important (family game night never ended well at the Deckert house) but he was less concerned about the wins and losses and always more focused on the relationship he had with his players. Brent coached the Lynx for 21 years before retiring in 2021, one year after his cancer diagnosis.
Brent passed away on March 13, 2024, eleven days after he officially retired from teaching. If we have to say he lost his battle with cancer after almost 4 years, then we must say it was a triple overtime game with bench-clearing brawls and several technical fouls. He fought until his very last breath, or until the final horn sounded. We are forever inspired by his resilience, his tenacity, and his refusal to give up. We have witnessed first-hand how The Game Honors Toughness.
Our hearts are broken, but we know his spirit and his legacy will live on.
He is preceded in death by his mother Arlene Deckert. Much of his family lives in Fargo including his dad, Herman; and his sister, Stacy, along with her husband, Mat; and their children, Taylor, Jonas, and Kasen. His brother Brian, also lives in Fargo with his children Derek, Davina, Jess, Blaise, and Kurt.
Brent spent countless hours watching game films and discussing basketball with his in-laws, Ron and Gloria Riherd. In many ways, they became parents to him and we are eternally grateful for their love and support. Brent also shared his life with his sister-in-law, Jody Riherd, and her husband, Dennis Corcoran, along with their children, Elliott and Reece, of LaCrosse, WI.
TGHT
Dear Family of Brent Deckert,
I send you my deepest sympathy. I hope it helps to hear God has Brent safely wrapped up in His arms. He and the Lord love you. They wait for you in Heaven until your time.
Kids – Trust God as your eternal Father & Shepherd.
Sure gonna miss the 7:00 am Live with Brent Deckert this summer. As Kennedy mentioned until I see you again my friend
The US Bank account for Brent Deckert Memorial Scholarships Fund is not yet available. if interested in donating, please use the gofundme link
As heartbroken as we are, because we shared our faith, we rejoice in knowing we will see him again. What a testimony he has! We are praying comfort during those hard times for his precious loved ones.
Jill and family my sincere and deepest sympathy on Brent’s passing. He will be missed on so many levels. Rest in peace my friend.
Al Soulek – Aberdeen
My sincere condolences on your loss.
May God be with you during this difficult time. Even though I only knew him briefly, I enjoyed his humor & company.
Holding your whole family up in prayer. I met Coach Brent through my brothers Scott and Mark who both worked with him in Brandon. Scott and the whole boy’s staff went out with me one night in the early 2000’s when I was coaching in West Central and we had the best time talking basketball! I know my brothers thought the world of Brent as did I! His passion touched so many. My deepest sympathies!
Mr. Deckert was my homeroom and gym teacher(2004) for at least one year at Brandon Valley Middle School when I was in middle school from the Fall of 2000 to the Spring of 2005. I had homeroom class with Paige Krumwiede, maybe Dani Schmidt, and I am not sure who else off the top of my head! I am not sure if the school does this anymore, but I remember having the option of purchasing milk to drink and a cookie or some sort of snack to eat during homeroom! That was pretty neat! I am sure many of my fellow gym classmates remember the “We all live in the yellow submarine”(“Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles) song he played a lot during jogging warm-ups! That was before kids had phones that had apps like Shazam to identify music! I may have been told that song was by The Beatles, but mostly I had no idea that was their song! To be honest I thought it was kind of a non-mainstream band that sang that song when I heard it in gym class! Mr. Deckert seemed to be a quick-witted teacher who knew what was going on with a class! For example, he would know who might be causing problems in a class or who would be an obedient student!
Mr. Deckert did not coach me in basketball but there was one time I was part of one of his coaching moments with, I think it was, Zach Schultz! Zach was a lot shorter back then in Middle School and Mr. Deckert saw me block one of Zach’s layups during a middle school practice! So, he wanted to show Zach how to make a layup against taller opponents! He took the ball and had me guard him, since he was a little shorter than me it would serve as a good example, just how I was guarding Zach! He went up for a layup with his technique and I blocked his shot! He tried it again then his technique worked and he made the layup! I know that is not much for coaching memories but I only played through my Freshman year of high school! I thought Mr. Deckert had a lot of character and was a pretty cool teacher to be around! He will be missed by many and that includes myself! God’s peace Mr. Deckert.
Here is “Yellow Submarine” by the Beatles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2uTFF_3MaA
-Jake Edwards