MANSFIELD, Texas — The head football coach of Mansfield High School died Tuesday after a battle with cancer. Daniel Maberry had battled lymphoma for the past two years.
Principal Trent Dowd sent a letter to the school that partially reads:
"Coach Maberry was a fighter until the very end. He knew what he had was life-threatening, but he refused to live his life in fear. Instead, he was more concerned about how his illness would affect his wife, two daughters, and the students and staff that he encountered on and off the football field."
Maberry was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkins lymphoma in January 2018. Seven months later, he was told he was in remission. It was even reported that he was cancer-free.
Two months after that, he was hit with a second diagnosis -- one that he continued to battle.
During an interview with WFAA in September 2019, Maberry said he wasn't going to let cancer rob him of his joy.
"I've been really blessed through this. It's strange to say that, that you're blessed through cancer, you know, because, I mean, it can kill me. But at the same time, there's been so many people that have blessed my life through this, I can't even count," he said.
Grief counselors were on campus Wednesday morning as a school-wide announcement of Maberry's death was made.
"We understand that everyone deals with grief differently, so please take time to help us acknowledge and monitor your child’s feelings," Dowd wrote in the letter.
Dowd said school officials will soon provide information regarding efforts to help support Maberry's family.
Memorial services have not been announced at this time.
