Robert Francis Fee Sr., known to two generations of Chelsea athletes as Coach Fee, caught the winning touchdown at the Rose Bowl and then came home and spent the rest of his life in the city he was born in. He died on September 18, 2026, at Massachusetts General Hospital after a sudden decline. He was 91.
He was born in Chelsea on January 11, 1935, to Thomas J. Fee Sr. and Evelyn F. (Stone) Fee, and never lived anywhere else. At Chelsea High School, class of 1953, he played football, ran track and played basketball, and was named an All-American. He went on to Indiana University, class of 1957. In 1954 he played in the North-South Shrine College All-Star Game at the Rose Bowl and caught the touchdown that won it.
Long before running was a common pastime he was a familiar sight jogging through Chelsea streets. He ran more than 30 marathons, Boston and New York and Las Vegas among them.
The larger part of his life went into coaching other people’s children. He coached football at the University of Massachusetts, at Lawrence Central High School, for the Lowell Giants and at Chelsea High School, where he also coached girls’ track.
He married Phyllis E. (Haas) Fee in 1957. They were married 58 years until her death in 2015, and raised two sons.
He leaves his sons, Kevin J. Fee of Chelsea and Robert F. Fee Jr. and his wife Adele of Seabrook, New Hampshire; his grandchildren, Jessica Lyn Sprouse and her husband Kelly of Stoneham and Matthew Robert Fee of Raymond, New Hampshire; four great-grandchildren, Luna Jane and Zara May Sprouse and Violet Ann and Henry Cash Sprouse; and his siblings, Dorothy Bradley and Evelyn Dahlquist, both of Chelsea, Thomas F. Fee Jr. of Hopedale and Edward Fee of Saugus.
Visiting hours are Friday, September 25, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Welsh Funeral Home. Friends will gather at the funeral home on Saturday, September 26 at 10:30 a.m., followed by a procession to the Woodlawn Cemetery Chapel at 302 Elm Street in Everett for an 11:30 a.m. prayer service and a graveside committal at Woodlawn.
Councillor-at-Large Leo Robinson asked the Chelsea City Council for a moment of silence for him on September 21.
Compiled from information published by Welsh Funeral Home718 Broadway, Chelsea, (617) 889-2723. Photograph courtesy of the family via Welsh Funeral Home. This is our own summary, not the family’s obituary; read the full obituary and leave a condolence at the funeral home’s page. Corrections: we will fix any error promptly.