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Renowned Fergus athlete Faunce dies
Published 11:37am Tuesday, April 7, 2009Evie Faunce, 82, outstanding Fergus Falls athlete who later starred as a University of Minnesota football player in the late 1940s, died April 1 in Arizona. The funeral will be Saturday near his home in Ogden, Utah.
A 1944 graduate of Fergus Falls High School, Faunce came into his own for legendary coach Bernie Bierman at the University of Minnesota.
He was the Gophers’ most valuable player in 1948, his senior season, and in 1949 appeared in the East-West Shrine Game, the Hula Bowl Game, and the Chicago Tribune All-Star Game. He played one pre-season of professional football, with the Baltimore Colts, in 1949 as a defensive halfback.
In college football at the U of M, Faunce, a 5-11 and 170-pounder, was a teammate of Bud Grant, who later became head coach of the Minnesota Vikings.
At Fergus Falls High School Faunce was a star athlete in football, basketball, and track. He was an all-state football player in 1943 as halfback, and was also named Otter MVP. A forward on the basketball squad, he was an all-district selection as well as Otter MVP in that sport.
Before playing at the U of M, Faunce competed at Iowa State in 1945 and 1946, as an all-around athlete. He played summer baseball for the Fergus Falls Red Sox from 1946 to 1949.
From 1954 to 1959 Faunce was head football coach at Utah State University. In 1968 he became president and co-owner of Flameco Engineering, Inc., Ogden, Utah. The firm manufactured aircraft and aircraft engine parts plus assemblies for the government and major aircraft jet engine manufacturers.
He and his wife, Catherine, who preceded him in death, had three children, Jan, Michele, and Steve, as well as seven grandchildren.
A June 2, 2008, article about Faunce being named as Fergus Falls Athlete of the 20th Century is on line at www.fergusfallsjournal.com/news/2008/jun/02/faunce-humbled-top-fergus-athlete
