James Gregory McCoy

James Gregory McCoy passed away on September 30, 2024, in Winter Park, FL while surrounded by his mother, father, sister and brother-in-law.
James was born August 13, 2001, in Winter Park, FL to Gregory and Kristine McCoy. He attended Dommerich Elementary, Maitland Middle School, Montverde Academy, Winter Park High School, and Florida Atlantic University where he was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity.
Throughout his youth, he was an active member of various sports. He started playing soccer at the age of four. After getting 'bored' with soccer, his new passion for baseball led to the discovery of his fearless nature of high stressed positions in sports. Years of playing catcher, pitcher, and second baseman provided him opportunities of playing on All Star teams and him earning his nickname 'Bubba'. James also joined the Central Florida soccer referee community at the age of 10. Once he achieved his personal baseball goals of stealing homeplate and an out of the park homerun, James decided to take off the baseball cleats and switch to football cleats. After playing one year of Pop Warner football and his team being semi-champions, his passion was reignited to what he always called 'real football' – soccer. Being back on the pitch is where he shined and where he found his alter identity. Playing as goalkeeper for multiple club soccer teams and continuing to referee provided James opportunities to observe and execute strategy, grow patience, and more importantly, foster his control on the outcome of stressful situations.
While being a four-year varsity soccer player, the goalkeeper of both state and national ranked teams, and being recruited by Division 1 soccer programs, James found happiness with new adventures and discoveries. He enjoyed cooking, creating music, attending music concerts and festivals, and traveling.
During his life, he traveled to Australia and other countries, enjoyed scuba diving in the Keys and the Great Barrier Reef, delighted in snow skiing, appreciated the beauty of the beach, marveled at the splendor of the mountains, and felt freedom skydiving. Yet he relished spending time with friends and family the most.
While James was a private person, he cared more for others than he did for himself. His ability to accept and support the difference in others was seen through the vast array of friends in his life. His authentic humility and understanding made him stand out as his genuine appreciation for goodness and his loyalty to those in his life was seen through his love. While cancer (osteosarcoma) invaded his life in 2019, he did not let it define who he was or the passion he had for living life. His strength to continue past his original diagnosis provided us all with five more years of laughter, love, and experiences we all hold deep in our hearts. In typical James fashion, he decided to take control of his life when the cancer returned in 2023 – he decided he was going to continue making memories family and friends with the limited time he had left. He led his family to Germany to see his beloved team, Borussia Dortmund, play at Signal Iduna Park with his favorite player, Marco Reus at the helm, and sing along with the The Yellow Wall: "You'll Never Walk Alone". We know his spirit will continue to provide a beautiful example of love, kindness, strength, and life. And we find comfort knowing he is healthy, whole, and back to playing sports while watching us all from above with a his big smile.
James is survived in death by his parents, Greg and Kristi McCoy, and his sister Kaitlyn McCoy Nicholas and her husband Gage Nicholas. He is also survived by grandparents: Sue Berfield, Dick and Glenn McCoy: his aunts and uncles: Kim Berfield, Rich and Janelle McCoy: his beloved dog: Beckham. He also leaves behind many cousins.
James's memorial service will be on Saturday, October 26 at 11:30am at First United Methodist Church Winter Park (125 N Interlachen Ave. Winter Park, FL 32789).
An Irish wake (reception) will be held afterward at Fiddlers Green.
**James was one who was so full of life. We are asking people to NOT wear dark colors but bright colors that bring life and happiness (just as James did when he was alive).
In lieu of flowers, please consider a contribution to either Osteosarcoma Institute (OSI) at https://osinst.org or Stupid Cancer at https://stupidcancer.org