Longtime golf coach Dick McBride passed away at the age of 90 last month, after a well-lived life full of service to the Long Beach community.

Born in 1935, McBride grew up in Long Beach attending St. Matthew’s Elementary and St. Anthony High School. He’s perhaps best known in Long Beach as an avid golfer and dedicated coach, and he began both careers early–he coached a middle school basketball team as well as the St. Anthony girls’ basketball team while still a student.

He first walked onto a golf course at the age of seven at Recreation Golf Course, later recalling that the fairways were empty on that day in 1942 because of World War II. Because the Saints didn’t have a golf program at that time, McBride competed for Wilson High while attending school at St. Anthony. He went on to play both basketball and golf at Loyola University.

McBride served as a volunteer basketball coach at St. Anthony over the years, and was a dedicated volunteer assistant for the Wilson boys’ and girls’ golf teams for 20 years, and was part of multiple CIF Southern Section championships.

One of his athletes was Moore League champion Aundie Owens, who said her relationship with McBride was meaningful to her, and something she’s held on to even after her collegiate golfing career at the University of Illinois.

“The impact he’s impressed on me is a testament to his authenticity and genuine love for others,” she wrote. “I looked back and saw our emails back and forth while I was still playing college golf. Even states away, he’d still be keeping track of my scores, cheering me on, and giving me tips on what to do. I hope he’s proud of the impact he’s made on all of us.”

McBride’s contributions to Long Beach extend far beyond the field or course, though. He was a beloved Long Beach dentist for more than 40 years, taking his father’s practice over and caring for thousands of patients before retiring in 2006.

McBride was dedicated to his Catholic faith, and to his wife Barbara. After spending two years in the Army including as a chaplain in the Korean War, he came home and wed Barbara in 1960. They were married for 53 years until her passing and were legendary not just for their lifelong love for each other, but for the way they cared for their family and their community. 

They opened their home in 1970 as part of the Shepherding Home Program for pregnant women who needed a warm and safe home–over the years more than 60 women lived with the McBrides. Their involvement with a Catholic marriage and family program led to their joint appointment by Pope John Paul II to be one of the married couples serving as Auditors to the World Synod of Bishops, the first time in Catholic Church history that lay people were invited to be part of a Papal Synod. 

They spoke to the Pope and the 215 Bishops in attendance about the role of marriage and family in the American Catholic Church. The speech was also attended by Mother Teresa, who was seated across from them during the month-long Synod. Pope John Paul II later asked the pair to serve a five-year term on the newly-formed Pontifical Council for Marriage and Family.

McBride coached his children’s teams at St. Anthony throughout this time, and he was later inducted in the St. Anthony High School Hall of Fame as well as honored as a Loyola Marymount Distinguished Alum. After Barbara’s passing, McBride was well-known around the community for mass-delivering food and flowers to nursing homes, homeless shelters, and food kitchens around the city.

McBride is survived by he and Barbara’s five children Timothy, Patrick, Mary Jo, Michael, and Katie, as well as 13 grandchildren and a great granddaughter. Services will be held at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church in Long Beach this Saturday, Dec. 6th; Rosary at 10:15am, funeral service at 11am with a reception immediately following. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made in Dick McBride’s name to Food Finders https://givebutter.com/foodfinderus, or St. Anthony High School, Long Beach www.longbeachsaints.org/give.