Heart of a champion: Fontbonne retires jersey of alum who died at 18

Caileigh Duggan’s name will live forever at Fontbonne Hall Academy.

The Breezy Point resident, who graduated from the school in 2022, died in June of an undiagnosed heart condition after finishing her first year at the University of Tennessee. She was 18.

Duggan was a member of Fontbonne’s volleyball team, and after a Sept. 12 match against Xaverian the school retired her #17 jersey.

“She was the kind of kid where every day was sunshine,” said Athletic Director Linda Strong, who coached Duggan for several years. “She smiled more than any other person I met in my life.”

During the ceremony, Caileigh’s uncle Brian read a letter written by her parents Joe and Maryellen.

“We wish we could turn back time in this gym watching our sweet Caileigh girl and her friends play volleyball,” he read. “Of course, we were always cheering on Fontbonne to win but mostly we just loved watching Caileigh being so happy. Laughing and joking with her Fontbonne volleyball family, unafraid to hug her dear friends on Xaverian at local rivalry games. To Caileigh, most days seemed to be great.”

Strong said the speech and ceremony were beautiful.

“Everybody was crying,” she said. “Even the opposing team from Xaverian. A lot of those girls knew Caileigh and were upset.”

Though many of Duggan’s former teammates were away at college, most of their parents attended the event and posed for a picture under the retired jersey.

“They all had their phones and they were FaceTiming their daughters so they could see what was going on, and when I looked at the phones, the girls were crying,” Strong said. “It was so touching.”