www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/08/13/loc_twodeaths13.htmlIncludes some photos of these beautiful young women with their families.
Friday, August 13, 2004
Two young coaches leave families, players bereft
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Parallel lives, parallel deaths
By Cliff Radel
Enquirer staff writer
Tragedy struck twice this week, touching parallel lives on opposite sides of town.
Death came swiftly and unexpectedly, claiming two beloved coaches: Fairfield High School's Christy Dennis and the University of Cincinnati's Stephanie Rosfeld.
The young women died within 12 hours of each other. Christy passed away Monday night; Stephanie early Tuesday.
They left behind husbands and babies, family and friends, and countless students whose lives they touched.
"Students could come to Christy with problems and she always gave them the morally, mentally and physically right answer," said Mark Wine-berg, Fairfield's girls soccer coach.
"Steph was always laughing, always smiling, always positive and it inspired everyone to be like her," said Trish Ladusaw, Stephanie's former teammate.
Christy was 31, mother of a 3-year-old and pregnant with twins. Stephanie, 25, was on maternity leave after giving birth May 28.
Even in death they have taken parallel paths. Christy's funeral is today - as is Stephanie's visitation.
Both worked at their alma maters. Christy was Fairfield's assistant girls soccer coach. Stephanie was UC's assistant women's volleyball coach.
Both married college sweethearts and fellow collegiate athletes.
Chad Dennis wrestled at Tennessee-Chattanooga. Doug Rosfeld played center on UC's football team.
One day these young, vibrant women in seemingly excellent physical condition were full of life. The next they were gone.
On Monday, Christy went to soccer practice and prepared for the next day - her eighth wedding anniversary. On Tuesday, her husband was a freshly minted widower telling their 3-year-old daughter, Keegan, that Mommy would never hug her again.
"A man," he said, "should not be burying his wife at age 31 with two babies in her belly."
On Monday, Stephanie had dinner at a Kenwood restaurant with her in-laws, her husband and their 10-week-old son, Will. Early Tuesday morning, her husband awoke in their Clifton bedroom to the sound of her labored breathing.
Doug Rosfeld called 911. He administered CPR until the life squad arrived to rush his wife of 18 months to the hospital.
Christy died of a brain aneurysm caused by a rare form of leukemia - acute promyelocytic - discovered after her death. Stephanie died of cardiac arrest brought on by a sudden, undetected enlarged heart.
MEMORIAL PLANS
Christy Dennis' funeral service is 10 a.m. today at Avance Funeral Home, 4976 Winton Road, Fairfield. The family is compiling a scrapbook of stories about Dennis for her 3-year-old daughter, Keegan. Mourners wishing to contribute can leave the written stories at the funeral home. Memorials: The Keegan Rose Dennis Scholarship Fund, c/o Fifth Third Bank.
Visitation for Stephanie Rosfeld is 4-9 p.m. today at Nurre-Mihovk-Rosenacker Funeral Home at Rest Haven Memorial Park, 10211 Plainfield Road, Evendale. Mass of Christian burial is 10 a.m. Saturday St. Monica-St. George Church, 328 W. McMillan, Clifton Heights. Memorials: UC Women's Volleyball Team or the American Cancer Society.
When people this young die, their passing hits everyone hard.
"Everyone can feel the consequences of when a teacher's life and the gifts they offer to young people are cut short," said Steve Sunderland, a grief counselor and co-founder of Blue Ash's Fernside Center for Grieving Children.
"These stories also remind us of the fragility of our lives. At any moment, we may die. This strikes fear and awe in all of us."
And generates feelings of powerlessness.
"All parents want to make things right for their children," said Jeff Rosfeld of Kenwood. He's Stephanie's father-in-law."This is something I can't make better."
The sadness creates a bond among the survivors. Chad Dennis wants to talk with Doug Rosfeld.
"We can help each other," Dennis, a Harrison High School math teacher and wrestling coach, said of Rosfeld, a Western Hills High School social studies teacher. "We need to share what we're going though."
Chad Dennis said he is going through something he "wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. I lost more than my wife," he said. "I lost my best friend."
They were born to be together. With their birthdays separated by six days, they spent time together, as infants, in the nursery of Fort Hamilton Hospital. They met again in seventh grade, started dating in high school, went to college together and married in 1996.
"We were meant to spend this short time together," Chad Dennis observed. "She was the one person I could go to and talk about anything with. Now, I know how it feels to have a broken heart."
His heartbreak began Monday.
At 7:30 a.m., Christy arrived at a Fairfield park for soccer practice. She told Wineberg she had seen spots the night before.
Wineberg was concerned. Christy was six months pregnant with twins. "And she was not a complainer," he said.
He should know. Wineberg was her soccer coach at Fairfield High. He had started coaching her when she was 10.
Thirty minutes later, as she collected players' paperwork, Christy complained of dizziness, blurred vision and nausea. Wineberg asked another assistant coach, Heather Woodyard-Neiger, to take her home.
Woodyard-Neiger pulled into the driveway of the Dennises' Fairfield home. Chad carried his 5-foot, 7-inch wife into the house.
"She became non-responsive," he said. He called 911. An ambulance took her to the hospital.
She never came home.
"I can't believe she's gone," said Karen Carty, a former player and a 2003 Fairfield graduate.
"She was a mother figure to all of the kids, someone you could talk to about anything. It might not have been what you wanted to hear, but she always gave good advice."
The best advice she gave Carty: "Be open to everything. Love with your heart."
Sounds like Christy Dennis and Stephanie Rosfeld shared the same thoughts.
"Stephanie was magnificent," her father-in-law said. "She was a statuesque, 6-foot, 1-inch beauty whose positive attitude - that you could do anything - was bolstered by her great sense of faith."
Her can-do attitude came with a sense of humor.
"She was a teaser, a joker," Rosfeld said.
She found humor in the most mundane chores. On Mojday, she dropped by her office at UC. She was still on maternity leave. Her time off officially ended Thursday, two days after her death.
Head coach Reed Sunahara recruited and guided Stephanie during her record-setting playing days at UC. On Monday, they spent the late afternoon inflating volleyballs.
"She made that fun by joking around," Sunahara said. "Then at 5 p.m., she said: 'Gotta go to dinner. Call you later.' "
She called at 10:30 p.m. They talked about the incoming freshman team. She said: "See you tomorrow at 8 a.m."
Sunahara learned of her death at 7:15 a.m.
He took note of the date of her death.
"She died on the 10th. When she played at UC, she wore number 10."
On Wednesday, Chad Dennis made two trips. The first took him to see his wife's burial site.
After that, he took Keegan to the Fairfield Soccer Stadium to check on Christy's players.
The high school's Lady Indians were scrimmaging in near silence. They called out plays on the field. But no chatter came from the bench where players sat wearing T-shirts bearing the message, "When times are most difficult ... we excel."
The shirts were made to support a school levy. But, in light of Christy's death, the message had taken on an added poignancy.
The players on the bench had something more important to do than cheer their teammates. They busied themselves signing a handmade sympathy card.
The card was adorned with sketches of soccer balls and smiling portraits of Snoopy.
Chad Dennis and Keegan arrived just as practice ended and coach Wineberg told his team to take a lap around the field. Players on the bench put down the card and picked up their feet.
They trotted along the chalk out-of-bounds line toward the goal at the far end of the field.
Chad and Keegan stood, hand in hand, opposite the goal. Over their shoulder, a sign commemorated the Lady Indians' 1998-99 state finalist soccer team. The sign listed the players and the coaches of the "Team of Destiny" - including Christy Dennis.
As the players passed the dad and his daughter, Keegan plopped a pacifier-shaped lollipop into her mouth and waved.
One player, senior Danielle Walsh, broke ranks. She sprinted to the little brown-haired girl and gave her a high five. Keegan giggled. Chad smiled.
The Lady Indians continued their lap. Down the field they went, leaving the dad and his daughter alone with their grief and their memories.
