Charlie Rizzo

1944 - 2017

Charlie Rizzo was the hometown football hero at Seabreeze High School in the early 1960s. The skills he learned there gave him the knowledge and the foundation to pursue a coaching career that took him to some of the most prestigious college campuses across the country. Charlie, 72, lost a 10-year battle with cancer June 2, 2017 at Halifax Health Hospice, Port Orange. For Rizzo, the four years he spent on the gridiron at Seabreeze High School as a player for Coaches Fred Hogan and Jimmy Simmons set him on a path which shaped the lives of thousands of young athletes. A military veteran, Charlie Rizzo held strong to the roots of his adopted hometown, Daytona Beach. In a career that spanned 30 years, he worked with some of the greats of his profession, including Bill Parcells, Steve Spurrier and Al Groh. His coaching journey began at West Point and eventually took him to Rice, Texas Christian University, University of Maryland, University of Houston, The Citadel, Wake Forest, William & Mary, Georgia Tech and the University of Utah as well as a stint with Spurrier in the short-lived United States Football League team with the Tampa Bay Bandits. During his career he taught his players more than football skills, he taught them life skills as well. Brian Ruff, a former player at the Citadel, said of Rizzo: "I would not be the person I am today if it weren't for Charlie Rizzo. He meant the world to me.' Another former player, Travis Ortega, who played at Rice, then became an assistant coach with Rizzo at Houston, said: "If you spent just a few minutes with him, you walked away a better person. Even in his last days, said Ortega, Rizzo continued to motivate, "pouring himself into others.' Ken Hatfield, who coached with Rizzo at Rice University, said of his former colleague: ""Charlie was a player's coach, tough and fun to play for. He was honest, funny, and caring.' Rizzo retired after Houston played in the 2006 Liberty Bowl, and he was diagnosed with cancer. Charlie, one of Phil and Jean Rizzo's three children, was born on June 22, 1944, in Long Island, New York. The Rizzo family moved to this area when he was a child. He became a football standout at Seabreeze High School, where he was a four-year letterman, team captain and named to the all-state football team. Out of the numerous college offers he received after graduating in 1963, he accepted one from Auburn University, where Charlie played center and linebacker for the Tigers, starting in both the 1964 Orange Bowl and 1965 Liberty Bowl. He graduated from Auburn in 1967 as an ROTC Distinguished Military Student with a bachelor's degree in speech. At West Point, he was named assistant coach for the Army Plebe team and then was called to active military duty with the Army in Vietnam. He served from 1969 to 1970, leaving with the rank of captain. Charlie was the quintessential athlete who loved to compete. He relied strongly on his faith as a lifelong Episcopalian. In Houston, he was a volunteer for a church-based homeless feeding project and helped out by donating hours to the cardiac unit of Florida Hospital Memorial Medical Center here. He was a longtime member of the American Football Coaches Assn. A voracious reader, he belonged to a book club and enjoyed penning Letters to the Editor which appeared in the Daytona Beach News-Journal, after returning to the area to live in Daytona Beach Shores for the last few years. Survivors include his wife, Paula; two sons Brian (Cheryl), Port Orange, and Jason, also of Port Orange; one stepson, Shawn Weddle, Daytona Beach Shores; one brother, Phil Rizzo, Georgetown, S.C., and one sister, Fran Rizzo Dunn, Ormond Beach; two grandchildren, Lexie Rizzo and Nathan Farrell; an uncle, Louis Rizzo, New York; and several nieces and nephews. He also is survived by his sister-in-law, Gretchen Tittle, Chandler, Arizona. Memorial donations may be made to St. Mary's Episcopal Church, 216 Orange Ave., Daytona Beach, FL 32114. A celebration of life will be at St. Mary's at 1 p.m. Saturday, June 10 with The Rev. Jason Murbarger, rector, and The Rev. James Nutter, Houston, officiating. A reception will follow in the church fellowship hall.