All Good: The Greatest Gift of Them All
Chris Fuga Memorial Outing held Saturday
GILBERTSVILLE >> Chris Fuga’s greatest gift during his lifetime may have been his ability to bring people together.
Whether on the golf course, down the hallways of Saint Pius X High School or just in passing, the guy simply knew how to make people smile.
Saturday only served as proof that his gifts still live on today.
Nearly eight months after Fuga’s passing, Gilbertsville Golf Club hosted the inaugural Chris Fuga Memorial Outing on Saturday morning. Gilbertsville — the course Fuga called home during his four-year varsity career at Pius — was packed Saturday with more than 200 friends and family members. Players came from all across the region, a few from out of state, to celebrate the life of a friend gone too soon.
The outing was set up and run by Matt Paolucci, a 2010 graduate of Saint Pius X High School and a lifelong friend of Fuga’s.
“Seeing the big turnout brought incredible joy to myself and the Fuga family,” said Paolucci. “I couldn’t be hap-
pier with how everything turned out. It was an absolutely perfect day. I want to thank Chris for the beautiful weather.”
Fuga passed away last October at the age of 24 after complications in his second fight with leukemia, 16 months after being declared cancer-free.
Throughout his battle with cancer, Fuga’s attitude never changed. Neither did his love of golf.
Even after his initial diagnosis in May of 2014, he continued to play and excel on the course. Just over
a year after being told he had acute myeloid leukemia, he was competing in the BMW Philadelphia Amateur Tournament where he made his way into the semifinals against the best in the region.
All proceeds from Saturday’s outing went to Coker University’s golf team, where Fuga played four successful collegiate seasons. He earned Conference Carolinas All-Tournament team honors in 2012 and was named team MVP and third team All-Conference during the 2013 season.
While at Saint Pius, Fuga was a four-time AllArea and All-Pioneer Athletic Conference selection
in golf.
Though he saw so much success through golf, it was the things Fuga did off the course that will leave a lasting impact.
Throughout the day, Fuga’s catchphrase “It’s all good” rang through the hills of the golf course.
Those were the three words he’d repeat even down to his darkest days as he battled cancer.
They were the words he undoubtedly lived by.
And surely, they’re the words we’ll always remember him for.
Tears were shed throughout the day, but those tears were quickly met with laughs and
smiles.
That was the Chris Fuga effect.
“It will never be easy to accept the fact that Chris is gone,” added Paolucci, “but this event was a great opportunity to celebrate his life doing what he loved the most.”
Even after a bad shot went sailing into the trees or a putt lipped around the cup, one couldn’t help but look up at the sky and smile.
In the wise words of Chris Fuga: “It’s all good.”