CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — The local wrestling community is mourning the death of Dennis Whitby, a 41-year-old Virginia Beach resident and longtime coach who was killed in a motorcycle crash on Saturday.
“He really loved the sport, he loved teaching the sport and he would help anybody,” said Tracy Branch, who coached with him at Greenbrier Middle School in Chesapeake, where Whitby was also a PE teacher.
“The kids were drawn to Dennis, it’s kind of hard to explain,” Branch said.
“It’s kind of like they saw him as just a little older version of themselves ’cause he was so much fun,” he said.
Whitby was killed in a head-on crash with an SUV Saturday morning in the Pungo area. It happened around 11:30 a.m. Saturday on Charity Neck Road near Beggars Bridge Creek. Whitby leaves behind his wife Eileen. According to family and friends, the two of them were mourning the recent death of their infant daughter, Olivia Hope.
“I think what made him special, it didn’t matter if the kid was a state champ or the newest kid on the team, Dennis always had advice for him,” said James Midkiff, whose three sons were all coached by Whitby.
“He set a good example, not just for our boys, but he was a man of the community,” said Midkiff. “He made it fun for the boys and he was a good coach, he taught them how to be good wrestlers.”
A GoFundMe has been set up to help support the Whitby family.
