Galesburg.com: Tom Burek Obituary
BRIDGEPORT, Pa. — Former Monmouth College head men’s and women’s water polo coach Peter Ollis shared more than a bench or a pool deck with head men’s and women’s swimming head coach Tom Burek. The duo served as assistant coaches for the other’s programs as Ollis worked as an assistant swimming coach, while Burek served as Director of Aquatics and assistant water polo coach.
Burek passed away on Saturday afternoon, December 12, from complications related to COVID-19. He was 62.
Ollis, who joined the Monmouth staff prior to the Fall 2015 season, explains the retired master sergeant who served the Illinois State Police for 23 years made a lasting impact on not only the Monmouth aquatics teams, but also the lives of the student-athletes who came through the Fighting Scots’ programs.
Burek, who also coached several swim clubs in the region and had assisted other college swim programs, was the second-longest serving swim coach in Monmouth history. Before he was named the program’s head swim coach and the college’s Director of Aquatics in 2013, Burek spent two seasons as its assistant coach.
An assistant coach for the varsity water polo program at Monmouth since the the program’s formation from the collegiate club ranks in the Fall of 2012, Burek aided in the rise of the institution’s water polo teams to stand among the contenders in the Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference (MAWPC)-West Region (men’s) and CWPA Division III (women’s) over the past several seasons.
Burek will be laid to rest in Galesburg, Illinois, on Friday, December 18, at 10:00 a.m. at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 2401 North Broad Street A.
The CWPA, MAWPC and the entirety of the collegiate water polo community offer their condolences to Coach Burek’s family, friends and peers.
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