Latest news with #TJDetruf
Yahoo
31-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Fundraiser held for family of beloved Penn-Trafford football coach who died unexpectedly
The community is rallying around the family of a beloved football coach who died unexpectedly over the weekend. TJ Detruf was an assistant coach for the Penn-Trafford freshman football team. Millie's in Greensburg hosted a fundraiser for the family. Hempfield football coach Nick Keefer helped serve up ice cream. He coaches Detruf's son, who is Hempfield's starting quarterback. 'It shows how much the Detruf family meant to all these communities with everybody coming in and supporting it, so I think it's a great event, and it shows how much impact that TJ had on everybody and how important the Detrufs are to everyone,' Keefer said. Detruf will be laid to rest on Friday. A GoFundMe has also been set up to support the family. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW Solve the daily Crossword
CBS News
31-07-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Hempfield booster clubs hold fundraiser for family of late Penn-Trafford football coach
A fundraiser was held in Westmoreland County on Wednesday to support the family of late Penn-Trafford football coach T.J. Detruf, who died over the weekend. People in Westmoreland County have been coming together to remember Detruf, who was an assistant coach for the school's freshman team. Detruf leaves behind his wife Jen and son Dom, who is the starting quarterback at Hempfield High School. The fundraiser was held by football players, cheerleaders, and band members at Millie's Ice Cream. "T.J. was an amazing father to Dom and husband to Jen," said Jennifer Lippman, president of the Hempfield Football Boosters. "He also was a coach for Penn-Trafford and he was just an amazing person. You'd never see T.J. without a smile, he's always happy." "That's a small town where everybody really takes pride in their guys, and you can tell he was beloved in Jeannette," said Penn-Trafford head coach John Ruane, who said he's heard from coaches across the WPIAL since the weekend. "It's devastating to a lot of people that this guy worked with. Hempfield head coach Nick Keefer says the school community is rallying around Dom and his family, but the surrounding communities have joined in with their support as well. "I think that's the biggest thing that you see in Westmoreland County and even in the Pittsburgh area, the football community is when people rally together," Keefer said. The Penn-Trafford football boosters are also collecting donations to support the Detruf family through a QR code posted on the group's Facebook page.
CBS News
29-07-2025
- Sport
- CBS News
Beloved Penn-Trafford football coach dies
A beloved high school football coach in Westmoreland County died over the weekend. TJ Detruf died at his home Saturday in Hempfield. He was 41 years old. Detruf was an assistant coach for the Penn-Trafford freshman football team and a former quarterback at Jeannette High School. "That's a small town where everybody really takes pride in their guys, and you can tell he was beloved in Jeannette," said Penn-Trafford head coach John Ruane, who said he's heard from coaches across the WPIAL since the weekend. "It's devastating to a lot of people that this guy worked with. "TJ was a really good person first and foremost, and we hope he gets memorialized as a father and a great husband first because that's what he was." Detruf's son, Dom, is a three-year starter at quarterback at Hempfield, and head coach Nick Keefer says TJ's legacy lives on in the player Dom has become on the field. "TJ wasn't just Dom's dad. He was a coach, a man, and a leader that touched everyone he was around and had an impact on," Keefer said. "He poured his heart into this game we love and into his son every day, and that shows the way Dom carries himself with high character, strength and love for his teammates." Keefer says the Hempfield community is rallying around Dom and his family, but the surrounding communities have joined in with their support as well. "I think that's the biggest thing that you see in Westmoreland County and even in the Pittsburgh area, the football community is when people rally together," he said. The Penn-Trafford football boosters are collecting donations to support the Detruf family through a QR code posted on the group's Facebook page. The Hempfield football team, cheerleaders and band are hosting a spirit night on Wednesday at Millie's Homemade Ice Cream on South Pennsylvania Avenue in Greensburg. "We have three communities behind us, and we're going to be all right," Dom said. "My mom's strong. I'm all right."
