Well-known Geneva booster loses cancer battle
Marc Fagot was determined to keep on doing what he loved, even as he battled small-cell brain cancer through much of 2008 and into this year.
He continued to work as much as possible at Riverfront Chrysler-Jeep in North Aurora, where the Internet sales manager's co-workers surprised him by shaving or cutting their own hair when he lost his due to chemotherapy treatments last summer.
He pressed on in the summer and fall, meeting the Geneva Vikings football players at 5:30 in the morning at the school's weight room to guide them with their strength training as a volunteer assistant coach, as he had done for nine years.
And he got to see one of his sons, Drew, play his final game as a senior in November's state championship game.
Fagot, 55, lost his battle with cancer Thursday. He died at home.
In a June 2008 story about his co-workers' stunt to support him, Fagot cracked wise, noting that when he played as a fullback at the University of Illinois, his teammates nicknamed him "Meatball" - but that they could now call him "Cue ball."
Before working at Riverfront, he owned Marc Marketing, a home furnishings and decorative accessories business, first in a showroom at the Chicago Merchandise Mart for 20 years, then in Geneva. He also owned a store, Domus, on Third Street in Geneva.
Fagot's eldest son, John, said that patience and passion were two of his father's most prevalent qualities. They often mixed.
Once while driving John and several friends home from middle school football practice, Marc overheard the boys talking about the tackling drills they'd been learning.
"All of a sudden he pulls over the car to the side of Randall Road," John said. "He said, 'That's not how you do it. He made us all get out, and taught us to tackle on the side of the road."
Another time, John remembers casting a hook into his father's back during a family fishing trip. "He let out this big yelp, but then calmly told me to go get the pliers," he said.
Marc Fagot was a charter board member of the Geneva Baseball Association, and served as treasurer of the Geneva High School All-Sports Boosters.
In addition to his two sons, Fagot is survived by his wife, Robin; parents Mertyce and the Hon. John P. Meyer of Danville; four brothers; and three sisters. He was preceded in death by his father, Robert, and a sister.
Visitation is from 3 to 8 p.m. Monday at Yurs Funeral Home, 1771 W. State St., Geneva. A funeral Mass will be said at 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Peter Catholic Church, 1891 Kaneville Road, Geneva.
• Daily Herald staff writer Kerry Lester contributed to this story
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