Cousy To Receive Honorary Doctorate From BC

http://www.telegram.com/article/20140512/NEWS/305129929/-1/NEWS06


Celtics star Bob Cousy to receive honorary degree from Boston College



Celtics great Bob Cousy, photographed with some of his basketball memorabilia and family photos Friday at his home in Worcester. In September, Mr. Cousy lost his wife of 63 years, Marie "Missie" Cousy. (T&G Staff/PAUL KAPTEYN)

By Bill Doyle TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF
wdoyle@telegram.com



CORRECTIONS / AMPLIFICATIONS
The headline on this story has been amended with the name of the college that will award Bob Cousy an honorary degree May 19.



WORCESTER — Bob Cousy has done his best to fight back his tears since the death of his beloved wife, Missie, at age 85 last September.

"I still have my bad moments," the Celtics great said last week from his Salisbury Street home. "I do well for a couple of weeks and then I start bawling again."

A little more than a month after Missie's death from a stroke, Cousy made his annual two-day drive to West Palm Beach, Fla., for the winter, but for the first time he did it alone. After driving back to Worcester with his daughter Ticia and arriving at his home Sunday afternoon, Cousy broke down in tears again.

"I'm an emotional person anyway. The first 30 years I wasn't much of a husband," said Cousy, who traveled a lot earlier in his marriage, first while helping the Celtics win six NBA championships in his 13 seasons and later as a coach, "but the last 33 years I paid attention and we had a very close relationship. I didn't expect it (her death). Frankly, I thought I'd go first."

May 19 should be another emotional day for the former Holy Cross and Celtics star. Boston College, where Cousy coached the men's basketball team for six years after retiring as a Celtic, will present him with an honorary doctor of humane letters degree during the school's graduation ceremony at Alumni Stadium.

"Missie would have been as proud as can be," Cousy said before becoming emotional.

Cousy, 85, has turned down requests to do public appearances in recent years, but he decided to accept BC's offer to honor him.

"Missie used to say that those six years at BC were the maybe the six happiest of our married lives," he explained.

In six seasons of coaching at BC, Cousy compiled a record of 117-38 with appearances in two NCAA tournaments and one NIT. More important to Missie, he was home a lot more than he had been with the Celtics.

In the press release announcing that Cousy would be honored, BC detailed his accomplishments as a basketball player, coach and broadcaster, but also mentioned the decade that he lovingly and without complaint took care of Missie while she battled dementia.

Cousy's daughters, Marie Brand-Cousy, a Seattle resident who graduated from BC, and Ticia Cousy of Florida, plan to be on hand for the graduation ceremony.

"I couldn't have gotten through this without my daughters," Cousy said. "They've been absolutely incredible."

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is scheduled to deliver the commencement address at BC. The former U.S. senator from Massachusetts is a graduate of BC Law School.

Since Missie's death, Cousy has received more than 500 letters and sympathy cards, most of which mentioned how touched they were by reading Dianne Williamson's moving T&G column about how he had cared for his wife in her declining years.

Now that's he back in Worcester, Cousy doesn't plan to leave home much other than to dine Thursday nights at Worcester Country Club with his friends and attend Mass at Blessed Sacrament Church. Cousy said receiving his honorary degree from BC "may be fortunately for the world the last time they see old No. 14 in public."

No. 14 is Cousy's retired number with the Celtics.

"With every day that goes by," Cousy said, "I go longer and longer without getting weepy about it (Missie's death), but I can't control it. I don't know when it's going to happen. That's why I have become pretty much a recluse."

Cousy is not looking for sympathy.

"Everybody has lost loved ones," he said, "and people who are close to them. I certainly don't want to be out there being looked upon as a victim. So the best way to avoid that is to not go out. I've always been that way when I'm hurting. Let me grieve by myself. Let me crawl in my hole and deal with it."

Cousy has also had a tough time physically since Missie's death.

A blood clot, probably caused his by atrial fibrillation, swelled his lower left leg for months before blood-thinning medication and wearing a pressure sock finally eliminated the problem two weeks ago.

On Jan. 21, he underwent a back surgery called a laminectomy after two epidural injections failed to alleviate the pain long enough.

"I was literally walking like a crab," he said. "I couldn't do anything, couldn't care for myself."

The surgery has allowed Cousy to walk upright without pain with the help of a cane, but he still hasn't felt well enough to play golf, even though his doctor told him he would be back chipping and putting by now. Cousy said if he can't play golf soon, he may decide to give it up for good.

For the past month, he has battled the flu, fatigue and a persistent cough.

"Of course," Cousy said, "you've got to factor being 85 in there somewhere, too. You don't bounce back as quickly."

Cousy has always appeared to be much younger than he is and has been fortunate to remain healthy except for undergoing surgery for a hip replacement and diverticulitis.

Even though he hasn't felt as well as in the past, Cousy still drove Ticia to Logan Airport Tuesday and drove home himself.

Cousy didn't attend any Celtics games this season and can remember watching only two on television in their entirety.

"It looked to me like they were trying like hell, but they were just overmatched," he said.

Cousy felt bad for Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who lost more games in his first season coaching in the NBA than he had in the previous six years of coaching at Butler University. Cousy remembers how down he felt when he coached the Cincinnati Royals and they lost 14 in row in the 1971-72 season. Even though he had a three-year contract, he called team owner Max Jacobs in the middle of the night and offered to resign.

"I was so unused to losing," he said. "I had never lost to that degree."

Jacobs decided to keep Cousy, and the Celtics are in no hurry to get rid of Stevens.

Cousy has already received honorary degrees from Springfield College, Becker College and Holy Cross. Missie was there in person for those awards. She'll be on hand in spirit at BC.



bob


.

Good for B.C.  I hope this event might be just the tonic to remind Cooz that he can derive a lot of positive energy through continued (if moderated) exposure to the hosts of people who love him not just as a basketball player but as a person as well.

Stories such as this make an ominous gong sound resound in my head.  It's happening more frequently these days.  And the only resistance I can muster is to recall and cherish the fantastic times that fashioned a counterpoint to the realities of today.

I just wish one of those old Celtics crowds could be present at the event to give The Cooz one of their patented, prolonged ovations that prompted Bob to name one of his books "The Last Loud Roar."

Go Doctor Cousy!

Sam