Longtime high school coach passes away at the age of 83

By: Chris Roush, News Director

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (KQTV)– Harry Elder coached in six different decades, three different states, and multiple schools, so the longtime coach had an impact on thousands of students.

Elder passed away this week at the age of 83. He spent more than 30 years as a head high school football coach. Elder coached basketball and track, too.

He led the Elwood Panthers during parts of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.

The longtime coach took his talents across the Missouri River and took over the Bishop LeBlond football program in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

He could have stopped coaching after his stint at Bishop LeBlond, or Craig, or anywhere else in the mid-2000s, but the longtime coach had more left in the tank. Elder returned to Elwood for a few years. He ended up coaching basketball at Osborn, too.

Elder’s mindset was simple and he said as such in June 2006 when he was returning to Elwood.

“When you like what you do, I don’t see any reason to quit,” Elder told the St. Joseph News-Press.

Even after retirement from coaching, Elder still made his way around to watch local high school sports.