Siena lacrosse coach Liam Gleason, a Wading River native, remembered for his bear hugs and optimism at upstate funeral
Siena lacrosse players greet mourners who arrive to attend funeral services for their coach, Liam Gleason, on Saturday at Siena University in Loudonville. Credit: Cindy Schultz
LOUDONVILLE — Friends and former coaches remembered Liam Gleason, nicknamed “Tree,” at a funeral Mass Saturday as a perennially optimistic man prone to crushing bear hugs.
Hundreds of mourners filled the gymnasium at the UHY Center on Siena University’s campus to pay their respects to Gleason, the school’s men’s lacrosse coach.
Gleason, 41, a former standout player at Shoreham-Wading River High School, died on Dec. 3, several days after a fall at his home in Halfmoon, near Albany.
“Tree” began as the tiniest sapling. He was born premature at 29 weeks, and his mother, holding him in the palm of her hand, baptized him herself because doctors weren’t sure Gleason would survive, Father Mark Reamer told the mourners.
Gleason thrived, growing to 6-foot-5 and more than 200 pounds.
Liam Gleason was a lacrosse star at Shoreham-Wading River High School before becoming a coach. Credit: Siena Athletics / Stockton Photo
Reamer, the vice president for mission at Siena, recalled how Gleason once coached his Siena team to an improbable victory, with the Saints scoring four goals in the final 44 seconds of a game. Gleason’s belief in his teams never wavered, Reamer said.
“He believed in you, his players, he believed in his family, and he believed in his faith,” he said.
Gleason is survived by his wife of 12 years, Jaclyn; their three children, Kennedy, Penn and Tate; his parents, Kevin and Susan; and his brother, Brendan.
Kennedy, 9, led the gathering in a reading from the Book of Isaiah. When she finished, she told the crowd how much she loved her father — and she vowed to become the best lacrosse player she could and earn a scholarship.
Kennedy Gleason, 9, daughter of Liam Gleason, speaks during her father’s funeral at Siena University in Loudonville on Saturday. With her is Liam Gleason’s sister-in-law, Taryn Rosada, holding his youngest son, Tate, 4. Credit: Cindy Schultz
Donny Shea, an assistant coach who worked with Gleason and his younger brother, Brendan, at the University of Albany, said after the funeral Mass that the older Gleason was meant to be a coach. Gleason wanted to talk with his players about their lives and share lessons where he could.
“I think that's why he’s got players that play for him, because it's genuine he cares about them,” Shea said. “So, it wasn't about X's and O's, it was about how much he just cared about people.”
As much as Gleason loved the game of lacrosse, he was happiest on a boat on Saratoga Lake with his wife and kids, former University at Albany and friend Greg Beach said.
“He loved anything he could do with them,” Beach said. “If he could get those kids out on that lake whenever he had free time, that was, that was the happiest I saw him.”
Gleason was known as a star lacrosse player at Shoreham-Wading River High School, where he led the team to a state championship in 2002 and graduated in 2003. He graduated from the University at Albany in 2007, where he was also a conference champion before beginning his coaching career.
He went on to coach lacrosse as an assistant at Siena and at Albany, where he served as defensive coordinator and associate head coach, helping to lead Albany to six straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
He was named head coach of the Siena Saints lacrosse team in 2018. He coached the team for seven seasons and in May was named coach of the year for both the Eastern College Athletic Conference and the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Saints won their fourth MAAC Tournament Championship this year.
University at Albany lacrosse coach Scott Marr, holding a lacrosse stick, talks about Liam Gleason during the funeral on Saturday. Credit: Cindy Schultz
University at Albany men’s lacrosse coach Scott Marr spoke during the funeral Mass. He said the week since Gleason's fall had been overwhelming, with a deluge of support from the larger lacrosse community.
Marr coached Gleason and became a mentor to him as Gleason’s own coaching career blossomed. The two talked almost daily about their programs and the club program they ran together.
Marr recalled that during the 2007 season the team had started with seven straight losses. Gleason came in with a VHS of “The Secret,” a documentary based on the idea that positive thoughts lead to positive outcomes.
The team lost only four games the rest of the season, making it to the conference championship game. Marr credited it with turning the program around.
“He carried himself with love,” Marr said. “The biggest impacts one can have on young men is that love and compassion, that ability to get that bear hug from Liam, it was always a great feeling.”
Marr remembered Gleason as a selfless person, with that selflessness manifesting itself in his intent to become an organ donor.
“I can’t wait to meet that young man — I assume it will be a man because of the size of his heart — but that young man is super lucky,” Marr said. “Liam’s heart and legacy will live on in that young man and will live on in all of us.”
