Jeff Stutts died on July 20 at age 62. (Courtesy photo)
By Asheebo Rojas
North State Journal
SILER CITY – Jordan-Matthews Hall of Famer Jeff Stutts, the former girls’ basketball coach who led the Jets to the 2012 2A state title, died July 20 at the age of 62.
Stutts lost his battle to cancer, per an update posted on Facebook by the Jordan-Matthews Booster Club.
Before being inducted into the Jordan-Matthews athletics Hall of Fame in 2018, Stutts taught at Jordan-Matthews from 1984-2013, serving as the head coach for girls’ basketball and track and track and field. He had a stint as athletics director from 1989-91.
“He was the best friend I could have had,” said John Phillips, a former Jordan-Matthews coach and athletics director. “We got to (Jordan-Matthews) the same year. We even vacationed together. …We just had a connection that’s hard to articulate.”
Following his time with Jordan-Matthews, Stutts coached Asheboro’s girls’ basketball team. He lived Asheboro.
Stutts was a multifaceted man known for his deep passion for researching and teaching history and the care he took to get the best out of his athletes.
“Anybody who attended Jordan-Matthews from 1984-2013 will certainly remember a man who worked hard, had impeccable integrity and was just a real professional,” Phillips said.
Stutts reached four regional finals with the Jets’ girls’ basketball team, including the 2011-12 season when he led the team to a 31-0 overall record and a state title victory against Wilkes Central.
“We never discussed the accolades, the championships or the wins until it was over,” Mylia Garner, a member of the 2011-12 team who scored a team-high 22 points in the championship game, said in a Facebook post honoring Stutts. “It was about being the best version of yourself. … The intangibles he instilled in us won those games and, they won the championships. I just hope he knows he changed my life.”
Once a month, a group of mostly former Jordan-Matthews coaches meet with in Siler City. In July, Stutts delivered a touching speech on his condition and the reality of being in his final days.
“He gave a Valvano-esque inspirational speech about how he had faith,” Phillips said. “He understood that he probably wasn’t going to be here much longer, but he accepted that.”
Phillips added: “We were kind of speechless. Although Steve Lowman said, ‘Well Stutts, just stay as stubborn as you were when you were coaching.’ You know, you have to stand by your principles, and he had integrity. … I mean people were very emotional.”
Stutts, a 1980 graduate of Trinity High School, graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill. He’s survived by his wife, Kim, four sons (Andrew, Matthew, John, William) and four grandchildren.
“While his illness and passing is a tragedy, he was secure in his faith in God and his hope in Jesus and wanted everyone he met during his fight to know and to see the blessings he had received,” his obituary by the Pugh Funeral Home said. “He was always giving praise for what God had given him and was able to use his gifts to touch the lives of his family and countless students and players. It was truly a life of impact and fullness and one worthy of celebration.”
