A Cold Lake man is being honoured for all of his contributions to the community and his love for the sport of soccer.
The name Thomas Varughese is displayed proudly outside of Cold Lake’s new artificial turf field.
”The man had an amazing passion for making Cold Lake a better place,” expressed Mayor Craig Copeland during the unveiling on Saturday, July 6. “I think he would have been proud of how the field turned out.”
According to Copeland, it was a unanimous decision by council to name it the Thomas Varughese Memorial Field.
A coach, principal, and mentor, Varughese dedicated his life to the local community before he passed away in February 2017.
”Even though he travelled the world throughout his life, lived in four different continents, and spoke five different languages, he always called Cold Lake his home, and that’s where his heart was,” explained his son, Nyles Varughese.
Varughese dedicated over four decades to education, as a principal and a Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) board trustee.
He started his career under the Bonnyville School District, before he was appointed principal at Grand Centre Junior High. He later retired as principal of Grand Centre Middle School.
Through his passion for the sport, Varughese was instrumental in bringing soccer to Cold Lake.
”Soccer was a huge part of Tom’s life,” recalled his wife, Lynn Varughese. “To him, it was truly a beautiful game. He played for the University of Alberta Golden Bears, he captained Team India in Edmonton’s Mini World Cup, coached his own children, and many children from the community, as well as adults.”
Before the unveiling ceremony, the Varughese’s had the opportunity to take a look at the facility. Lynn described it as magnificent, and the family agreed it was a great way to remember him.
For his son Alex, it reminded him of the fields he grew up playing on in Cold Lake.
”I got to share some of the same paths (as my dad) by breaking through into major league soccer, and also playing for the University of Alberta Golden Bears. I was inspired to do that playing on those fields, so I hope for the community and the hundreds of people that are involved in soccer, they realize how big an opportunity this is to really enjoy the game and raise the level of soccer in the community, which was another thing that my dad really would have loved,” he said.
In honour of the occasion, the Cold Lake Minor Soccer Association organized a youth soccer skills camp and a Friends of Tom soccer game at the facility.
Tim Urlacher, president of the Cold Lake Minor Soccer Association and one of the organizers for the event, noted Varughese always invited everyone he knew to play.
”This is kind of one of the reasons why the field should be named after him, because this is where everybody should come.”
Copeland said the city is in the process of finding a location at the field for a plaque, to share Varughese’s story and explain why they chose to honour him the way they did.
