Vanessa Close Memorial Tournament

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Vanessa Dawn Close  

November 2, 1980 – November 13, 1999

Vanessa Dawn Close is the daughter of Van and Cheryl Close.  She was born in Plano, TX on November 2, 1980 and attended LISD schools beginning in Kindergarten.  She was known for her smile that could light up a room, her funny sense of humor, and her love for God, her family and many friends.  She was very involved at First Baptist of Lewisville where she sang in the youth choir and participated in several mission trips.

She entered Marcus High School as a freshman in the fall of 1995 where after only having a golf club in her hands for the first for two months, she made the Girls Junior Varsity Golf team with a set of Northwest clubs from Target.  After really hard work, she earned that set of Calloway clubs from her Dad by making the Varsity team her sophomore year, and she continued as a Varsity Golfer until graduation.  The Girl’s Varsity Golf team progressed to regionals each of those three years.

On November 13, 1999 during Vanessa’s freshman year at Stephen F. Austin University she was involved in a fatal car accident. Vanessa made a real difference in others’ lives. She would frequently end her notes with “Smile, you might change someone’s day.”  She so freely shared her love of God with others through her words and actions and is greatly missed by all.

Golf taught or reinforced many life lessons for Vanessa.  She experienced how much consistent hard work pays off.  She came to realize that it was important to challenge herself to increase her ranking on the team.  More importantly though, she learned the team members would be stronger, if the team was strong.  While it was an individual effort, it was a team sport.  She benefitted from older members demonstrating a belief in not fighting one another for those varsity rankings, but supporting, encouraging, and helping each other to get better.   She also loved how important integrity and honor were in golf. Finally, she learned how to be gracious in defeat and humble in winning.  She loved golf and especially being on the MHS golf team with many of her friends.

Those who loved Vanessa wanted a way to continue her memory.  So they collected funds and created a permanently endowed Vanessa Dawn Close Memorial Scholarship with the Lewisville Education Foundation to be awarded to a Marcus High School Golfer each year.  Application deadlines are announced by LEF at the beginning of each year and the scholarship is awarded in the spring before graduation.