Wayne Hills' First Championship-Winning Coach Dies

Editor's note: This obituary was first published dignitymemorial.com.

WAYNE, N.J. - The first coach to win a state championship at Wayne Hills High School died Saturday.

Alan Ralph Gifford, 90, of Bonita Springs, Fla., died at Transitions Lifecare in North Carolina.

Gifford led the Wayne Hills High School Patriots to the school's first state group championship.

Gifford was born in 1925 in Boonton. He was a graduate of Mountain Lakes High School.

He received his bachelor's degree from Montclair State University.

He was a Navy veteran of World War II and served in combat in the Pacific theater.

Gifford set two notable firsts in New Jersey sports history.

He led Wayne Hills to the school's first state championship.

Gifford was the first person in state basketball history to score 1,000 career points when he played for Montclair State University. He was inducted into the institution's Hall of Fame in 1972.

Gifford has a 42-year career as an educator, administrator, and coach.

He was predeceased by his brothers, Arthur, Ronald, and Warren; and his sisters, Gloria and Norma.

He is survived by his son, Ronald Gifford; daughters, Melissa Gifford and Jennifer Gifford McInnis, and her husband, Lee; grandchildren, Ronald Gifford Jr., and Andrew, Laine, Maggie, and Wyatt McInnis.

Memorials may be made to the Collier County Honor Flight, P.O. Box 8001, Naples, Fla. 34101 or Transitions Lifecare, 250 Hospice Circle, Raleigh, N.C. 27607.