Modesto sports booster mom with ‘giving heart’ has her life cut short by COVID-19
.jpeg "Stephanie Longstreth and her husband, Jamal, are flanked by their twin sons, Trey, left, and Marcello, right, with their younger children in the front. Stephanie Longstreth died Monday. Aug. 23, after being diagnosed with COVID-19.")
COVID-19 has taken the life of a Salida mother of six and leading booster of athletics at Gregori High School in Modesto and youth sports programs.
Stephanie Longstreth, 40, died Monday after battling COVID pneumonia, said close friends and fellow volunteers.
The news dampened spirits as school and youth sports programs try to get on track and young athletes resume the games they love.
Parents who spoke about their friend said it’s a terrible loss for the family. Stephanie and her husband, Jamal, have two older sons and four younger children age 4 to 10 years old.
“It’s tough for the four younger ones,” Jamal Longstreth said by phone Thursday. “My 10-year-old daughter understands, but the three younger ones don’t. They are keeping me going.”
Friends said Stephanie spent much of her time supporting young athletes and helping others.
“She gave me her car when mine died,” said Deanna Valdry, who was a single mother with no resources, working two jobs, when Stephanie gave her the keys to her 1986 Buick.
Stephanie Longstreth was booster club president at Gregori High for two years and a tireless volunteer who continued to help even after her twin sons graduated in 2019.
Stephanie wore her Jaguars shirt to every game. She was not the athletic star but was the parent who worked behind the scenes to host team dinners, run concessions and provide sack lunches for players on the bus to away games. She was the glue holding the program together, other parents said.
Jamal, the “Rib King”, cooked tri-tip to raise funds at home games and Stephanie sliced it up to serve to customers. She worked on the annual crab feed, which raises thousands of dollars for Gregori athletics.
“A lot of our success was their volunteer work,” Gregori booster Kindra Walker said. “They put in 10-hour days on Fridays to keep the program successful.”
The couple more recently got their younger kids involved with MC Kingsmen Youth Football & Cheer.
The Kingsmen program held a vigil Tuesday before the cross at Modesto Christian School. It was attended by 100 people, including team members and parents. The group plans to hold a moment of silence for Stephanie before its games Saturday at Downey High School.
Jim Struck, who coaches a football team for 10- to 12-year-olds, told the boys at Tuesday’s devotional to let the Longstreths know they are thinking of them.
“When people are hurting, they need us to come put our arms around them and just love them,” Struck said. “Stephanie was very generous with her time with Kingsmen. Here’s a mom with six kids of her own, but she made time to do all the things volunteers need to do.”
A meal train was created to support the family, and more than 15 dates were covered by Thursday.
Mayra Ahumada, a Kingsman board member and cheer representative, said Stephanie was a fellow board member and dedicated volunteer, while Jamal took on coaching duties.
Ahumada said Stephanie helped other families, driving their kids to activities when they didn’t have a ride.
Valdry, whose oldest daughter graduated with Stephanie’s twin sons, has a fond memory of staying up until 2 a.m. with Stephanie and other parents, making bows for cheerleaders and pressing T-shirts.
“She was always there, if you called her anytime, whatever you needed,” Ahumada said. “If you didn’t know where to turn, she was there and would say, ‘We will figure it out.’”
The Longstreth family took in teenagers from rougher homes who needed a temporary place to stay, according to Valdry. “They lived humbly but gave like they are millionaires,” she said.
Text said she wasn’t feeling well
Stephanie sent out a text message Aug. 7, saying she was not feeling well. She stayed away from practices and stopped attending activities, Ahumada said.
The Salida mother was at Doctors Medical Center for more than a week.
Valdry said Stephanie asked for prayers in a text because she didn’t want to be placed on a ventilator. Valdry said it sounded encouraging when she heard from Stephanie late last week. But it was the last text she received.
“Stephanie worked tirelessly to help the kids and support the athletes at Gregori High School,” said James Davis, the school’s athletic director. “It’s just a tragedy that everyone is trying to wrap their heads around.”
Jamal and Stephanie raised the two oldest sons in youth sports in Ripon.
Marcello, who wore No. 1 on his jersey, and Trey, No. 3, played for the Gregori High conference champion football team in 2017, and Trey was also a standout in basketball.
Marcello made a diving one-handed catch for the winning touchdown against Downey to secure the first outright conference title for the Jaguars. The spectacular catch was later replayed on sports channels and internet sites.
Friends said the parents always taught the twins to do great things.
Jamal recalled his wife said after the game she was certain her son completed the catch and it was a touchdown, which is clearly shown on video. Stephanie had a background playing high school basketball in Ripon.
The family moved into a new home in Salida in June and was starting to decorate, placing Stephanie in a good frame of mind before she got sick, Valdry said.
The joy of volunteer work
People in California have tried to live with the dangerous coronavirus since the state reopened and most health restrictions were lifted in mid-June.
Valdry said parent volunteers are challenged in trying to restore normalcy for young athletes, while also meeting protocols for mitigating the disease and preventing tragedies. She said they struggle with those questions as the sports programs resume in communities like Stanislaus County where political views differ on the severity of COVID-19.
People said Longstreth could have caught the virus anywhere. She stayed away from activities almost the entire month of August.
“Our hearts go out to Stephanie’s family at this difficult time,” said a post by MC Kingsmen Youth Football & Cheer. “She was a committed and hard worker and we will all miss her positivity. Stephanie was a great help to the MC Kingsmen board and a great friend to many of us.”
Valdry said: “If anyone thinks of Stephanie, they think of her giving heart, her servant’s heart. People should know the joy you get from volunteering. It’s exhausting work, but when you see the kids excited, that is the reward.”
The MC Kingsmen Youth Football & Cheer are accepting donations for the Longstreth family. A teacher and Gregori coach created a gofundme account to provide support for the family.
This story was originally published August 27, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
