Costa Mesa Coach, 40, Dies After Life Support Removed

Paul Troxel, who coached baseball at Costa Mesa and Estancia high schools the last 20 years, was removed from life-support systems Monday afternoon at Western Medical Center in Santa Ana.

Troxel, 40, suffered a brain aneurysm and heart attack Saturday after returning to his home in Garden Grove from a baseball game at Orange Coast College.

He never regained consciousness and remained on life support to make the donation of his organs possible.

Costa Mesa baseball Coach Kirk Bauermeister said a memorial is scheduled for 3 p.m. today at Harbor Trinity Church in Costa Mesa. Funeral arrangements are pending.

“Paul was one of the most loving, caring people I have ever met,” Bauermeister said.

“He was a father figure for anybody in the school, not just athletes. Kids who were troubled, kids on the edge, they just gravitated toward him. He always had the right words, and knew how to deal with them.”

Troxel is survived by his wife, Debbie, stepsons Steve Whitten, 22, and James Whitten, 16, and stepdaughter Sherrie Whitten, 24, as well as a sister, Arlene, and brothers, Pat, Bob and Jeff.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Estancia High, in care of Art Perry.