Century High assistant baseball coach Dan McCaskill passes away
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POCATELLO — Century High School assistant baseball coach Dan McCaskill passed away early Friday morning after suffering a massive heart attack Tuesday while visiting family in Arizona for Christmas.
McCaskill — who in 2014 coached the Pocatello Razorbacks summer Legion baseball team to an unprecedented 57-1 record, a state championship and a regional championship — was hiking Tuesday with family when he began feeling chest pain, and it was progressively getting worse. It wasn’t long before his brother, Dave McCaskill, called 911.
Dan was admitted to an Arizona hospital, sedated and put on an ECMO machine, which was pumping blood through his body while his heart and lungs tried to strengthen.
According to an update on Dan’s GoFundMe profile set up by longtime friend Becky Dodge, his heart and lungs were not functioning well enough on their own, and Dan was undergoing evaluation for a possible heart transplant.
Dan underwent surgery Thursday night, but it was not successful.
“Today we lost an amazing brother, son, father, husband, uncle, coach and friend,” read an update on Dan’s GoFundMe page. “Dan went into surgery tonight and did not return… However he gave it one helluva fight!! We will cherish our time spent with Dan, and always remember him for his unwavering loyalty, love, friendship, and shenanigans. There was never a dull moment when D-Mac was around. We want to thank our family and friends for all of the support, phone calls, texts, messages, FB posts, and love. We will miss you Dan… and you will always be with us.”
Those who wish to donate to Dan’s GoFundMe can do so at https://www.gofundme.com/the-dan-mccaskill-family-fund?rcid=451ac2fa6c7449969dd221f04f2f2fed.
As of Saturday morning, 68 people had raised $8,800.
This article was originally published in the Idaho State Journal. It is used here with permission.