Former basketball coach Ken Eifes, left, and former Avon High wrestling and football coach Ken Lukasiewicz have passed away.
Two former varsity coaches in the area passed away in the past two weeks.
Kenneth M. Lukasiewicz, who coached the Avon High wrestling team for seven seasons and led them to three consecutive Class S state championships from 1993-95, died on May 23 at the age of 80.
Kenneth R. Eifes, who coached the Canton High boys basketball team for two seasons and the Farmington High girls basketball team for three seasons, died on June 2 at the age of 76.
Lukasiewicz was the assistant coach with the Avon High wrestling team for 10 years before taking over the head coaching duties in December 1990. His Falcons won four straight North Central Connecticut Conference championships (1991-94) and finished in the top five of the Class S tournament six times in seven seasons.
His 1994 Falcon team beat Rocky Hill by 3½ points and St. Bernard by 5½ points in the closest Class S tournament at that time. And the next season, Avon beat Canton for the state title a week after Canton had beaten Avon for the NCCC championship for the first time.
He taught English and coached football and wrestling at Avon High for over 30 years.
Lukasiewicz grew up in Bristol and graduated from Bristol Eastern High. He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force, serving during the Vietnam War.
Calling hours will be Thursday, June 8, from 4-7 p.m. at Carmon Funeral Home and Family Center in Avon.
Eifes loved learning, coaching and teaching the game of basketball, taking every opportunity he could to be around the game. He coached his daughter’s teams and other youth basketball programs. His obituary said that Eifes was known as the “shot doctor” at summer camps and was an dedicated AAU basketball coach.
He was a head coach and assistant coach in Canton and Farmington.
Eifes was the head basketball coach for the Canton High boys program for two seasons in 2000 and 2001. He led the Farmington High girls basketball program for three seasons (1995, 1996 and 1997).
He was a Little League coach in Canton, where he and his wife, Barbara, raised their family. He was a long-time member of the Unionville Lions Club, where he was president in 1982, and the Canton Booster Club.
Eifes, who graduated from Farmington High, was president and owner of Industrial Mechanical Services HVAC. Eifes was a Vietnam veteran, who served in the U.S. Army.
He was also an avid outdoorsman. He was a certified Master Wildlife Conservationist, trained in the field of wildlife management, natural history and interpretation. The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection developed an adult education program to develop a volunteer corps capable of providing education, outreach and service for state agencies, environmental organizations, schools and the general public.
Funeral services will be Friday, June 9, at 11 a.m. at the Ahern Funeral Home in Unionville. There will be no calling hours.
