Norm Eavenson, a West Chester resident and foundational figure in the region’s basketball community, has died of COVID-19 at 74, writes Mike Jensen for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

His cause of death made the loss even more stunning; Eavenson was fully vaccinated and had scheduled a booster.

Eavenson, who taught social studies and history in the Kennett Consolidated School District before retiring, was a household name within the local hoops orbit. His Middle Atlantic Recruiting Service, built up from his many years of evaluating high school basketball players, had 65 Division I schools as subscribers.

High school sports fans, colleagues, and former students mourn his passing.

“Norm was the brother I never had,” said Larry Otter, Eavenson’s friend from graduate school. The pair bonded over a joint hobby — collecting political campaign buttons.

Eavenson was also a huge music fan. In a Nov. 1 e-mail he sent to friends from the hospital, he wrote that if he passed, they should play “Brokedown Palace” by the Grateful Dead “to know how I felt about you.”

Read more about Norm Eavenson in The Philadelphia Inquirer.