Legendary Dexter coach Ed Guiski passes away

By Mike Lange Staff Writer
    DEXTER — Edward V. Guiski, who spent 38 years in the Dexter Regional High School system as a teacher and coach, passed away on Dec. 22 at his home in Kennebunk after a long battle with cancer. He was 76.

Bangor Daily News file photo
    DEXTER LEGEND — Ed Guiski, who spend nearly 40 years with the SAD 46 school system as a teacher and coach, passed away Dec. 22
    Guiski was a Winslow native who won 16 varsity letters in four sports during his high school years, and attended Boston University on a basketball and football scholarship. He served in the U.S. Army for two years where he made the final cut of 10 Army candidates for the 1960 U.S. Olympic basketball team.
    After his discharge, Guiski enrolled at Gorham State University — now the University of Southern Maine — earned his master’s degree in education and started teaching at Windham High School.
    In 1967, Guiski and his family moved to Dexter where he taught physical education and coached basketball, golf, cross-country and football.
    But his greatest achievement was on the hardwood. During his 26 years as boys’ varsity coach, the Tigers won 329 games, made the tournament 18 times, won the Eastern Maine championship in 1985 and the state title one year later.
    Peter Murray, the current Dexter boys’ hoop coach, coached with Guiski for about 12 years. “I graduated from Schenck High School and we had quite a rivalry with Dexter. Ed always portrayed himself as a villain to Schenck fans,” Murray said. “But when I started working with him, he was just like a big teddy bear.”
    Murray said that he arrived at Dexter Regional High School in 1983 “as a 21 year-old who just got into teaching and coaching, and he and Lloyd Connors took me under their wing. They did a lot for me during my early years.”
    Murray added that “in the heat of battle, Ed was about as competitive as anyone. But he was also very caring.”
    Former coach and athletic director John Parola worked with Guiski for more than 20 years and also recalled how the “Gentle Giant” mentored him in the beginning. “When I first came to the school, I told him I had no coaching experience whatsoever and he said not to worry. He said he’d give me the tools to get the job done — and he did.”
    Parola said that it was “a pleasant surprise to learn how much Ed knew about the game. He urged me to get the team to press and not let up, even when we were ahead. I had to learn how to back down after awhile.”
    Even on the court, Guiski was competitive in his later years, Parola recalled. “I learned how strong he was the hard way,” he said with a laugh. “We were in a pick-up game, and I drove to the basket against him. All I saw was this huge hand blocking my shot. I never hit the floor that hard in my life. And there he was, with a big grin on his face.”
    Parola said that Guiski “was a wonderful man and a competitor right to the end. He was truly one of a kind.”
    Guiski was honored as Coach of the Year by the Maine Association of Basketball Coaches three times, and temporarily retired from coaching in 1993. But he returned a few years later to coach the Dexter girls for a while.
    He was inducted into the Maine Sports Legends Hall of Fame in 2011 and Maine Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.
    Away from school, Guiski enjoyed golfing, fishing and spending time at the family’s camp at Ragged Lake. He also served as president of the Dexter Recreation Board, president and treasurer of the Dexter Historical Society and a member of the Dexter Club.
    After his retirement, Guiski and his wife, Janet, moved to Kennebunk to be closer to their family and spent winters in Port Charlotte, Fla. for a time.
    He is survived by his wife of 50 years; his three children, Pamela M. Roberts of Springvale, John E. Guiski of Kennebunkport, and Alexander V. Guiski of Irvine, Calif.; and six grandchildren. Funeral services will take place in Kennebunk in the spring.