Individual Details

"Stig: A Gentle Man Loved as a Father - by Paul Judia. "When I was little and attending Galveston Catholic, I met a man who reminded me of Santa Claus. He had a chubby belly, a big smile and he loved kids. He was a man beyond any other teacher. I became one of his Stig�s Pigs in seventh grade. I remember the first time we grew so close. I was sitting in the back of the classroom being a little idiot and making noise. He looked at me and told me to please be quiet. Like a smart-alecky little kid, I said something I shouldn�t have, and he told me to leave the classroom. On my way out, I kicked a desk. Coach Stig got mad for the one and only time I have known him. He followed me outside and began to lay it down for me on how it was. After about a minute, I began to cry, Coach Stig shed a tear, and then we both started to laugh. We began to laugh because we could not even remember why we were there in the first place. At that moment, I formed a connection with Coach Stig that would never be broken. I found both a best friend and a second father. Though Coach Stig may not have had any children, he did have all of us. He loved us all and would have done anything to protect us. From that time on, I spent a lot of time with Coach. He taught me a lot about life and how things went on the island and in the world. When his mother got sick and needed hospice, my family, who owned Galveston Medical Supplies, were called in and he and I discussed death and life. When it came to moving his mother into the bed, one of the hospice nurses said she could not move her by herself and the only people who could help were family. I looked at Coach, then at the nurse and said I was family. The nurse gave me a look and then looked at Coach Stig. He nodded and said yes, I was family. Years later, we discussed this moment over dinner and Coach told me he was proud of all that I had done and truly saw me as part of his family. Currently, I am a student at St. Edward�s University, where one of his brothers attended. When Coach found out that I was studying here, he was so proud of me that I felt as if it was a father being proud of his son for doing right. There will never be another man like Coach Stig. He was a father to me and I will always love him as one. He loved the island and all those who ever met him loved him in return." (The Daily News, Galveston, Texas, Published June 2, 2006 by Paul Judia Jr., who is a resident of Austin.)

Birth

October 23, 1983

Galveston, Galveston County, Texas

Father	Paul Ray Judia (1955 - 2007)
Mother	Patsy Phipps ( - )