West Branch football coach entering hospice care

WEST BRANCH, Iowa (KCRG) - Lance Pedersen has announced that his father, Butch Pedersen, is entering hospice care.

Butch led the West Branch Bears to 3 state titles in 1989, 1991, and 1992. He was named the national coach of the year in 2017.

In October 2022, he was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, a blood cancer. According to Pedersen, the infection “continues to mutate and we cannot control it.”

Lance said that Coach Kirk Ferentz, Coach Dan McCarney, and Lavar Woods all called and spoke individually with Butch on Friday. Lance also said that the football staff met with the football team on Friday to discuss this difficult time.

“...Emotions are high tonight, I sit here listening to Dad breathe and I am scared about life without him. I am also calm that I know his faith and my faith he will soon be in a better place, a place where there is no pain, a place where he will be reunited with Grandma and Grandpa again. A place someday we will be reunited again...”

You can read Lance’s full journal entry here.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help the Pedersen family with medical costs.

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