Dusty Anchors, the Ridgefield High softball coach who quickly endeared himself to that community, is on the last steps of his battle with heart disease.
In a Facebook post Thursday, Anchors, 68, revealed that he has entered hospice care for “this final chapter.”
“Once there, all drugs, cords, tubes and pills will be stopped and I will be just given those to keep me comfortable,” Anchors wrote.
Anchors wrote that he’ll be surrounded by his wife Lori, daughters Shayla and Kelsey and his grandchildren.
“I’ll have a private room that opens out into a garden space,” Anchors wrote. “(We) can be there to laugh, cry, hug and remember what a good life it has been.”
Anchors arrived at Ridgefield in 2017 after coaching softball for nearly 30 years, including seven seasons at Olympic High in Bremerton. He also assisted at Battle Ground and Eastlake in Sammamish.
He led the Spudders, who hadn’t reached the state tournament since 2011, to two consecutive Class 2A state tournament berths.
Prior to the 2018 season, after a string of hospital visits, Anchors learned he was in stage-four heart failure. Doctors told him he’d be fortunate to live through last summer.
The Ridgefield softball team rallied around their coach. Current and former players launched fundraising campaigns for Anchors.
“A coach can make or break a sport for you at the high school level, whether you want to go on, or even play high school,” then-junior outfielder Haidyn Woodside told The Columbian last spring. “I think he totally changed all of our lives.”
Anchors’ final game coaching the Spudders came April 29 in a 15-0 home win over Mark Morris. Ridgefield (15-4 overall) wrapped up second place in the 2A Greater St. Helens League to qualify for next week’s 2A district tournament in Longview.
In his Facebook post, he reflected on the joys of his 30-year coaching career.
“It has allowed me to go places, meet people, and experience great events and championships,” Anchors wrote. “The wins, losses, and more importantly, the lives of young female student-athletes I have effected.”
Anchors outlived his initial dire diagnosis. In September, Anchors told The Columbian he had a renewed lease on life when doctors downgraded his December 2017 stage 4 heart failure diagnosis to stages 2-3 by last fall.
Anchors said then he credited his mental attitude and a big heart from the Spudders.
“I’d like to think that was a good part of it,” he said in September. “I had the Ridgefield softball community behind me and the power of good thoughts.”
But he had recently taken a turn for the worse. He wrote that on Sunday, he briefly stopped breathing.
“My heart was finally telling me and my body that no matter what amount of drugs I was using, I was done,” Anchors wrote.
Anchors’ final message included a link to donate to the American Heart Association. It ended with a message of gratitude.
“Thanks for your friendship, sharing your life with me…but its now time to “…burn a little daylight!!”
Staff writer Meg Wochnick contributed to this report.
