8/16/1961 – 7/23/2026
There was never anyone else like August Luuga.
Better known by his nickname “Augie,” he served the Long Beach Community College campus with a dedication and selflessness that was unparalleled at the Vikings’ school, or any other. Augie passed away of an illness in late July after more than four decades of service at LBCC as both an employee, and as a volunteer. He was 64 years old.
“It was full involvement with zero expectation of anything back, he was a unique guy,” said Randy Totorp, LBCC’s Dean of Athletics, Kinesiology, and Public Health. “He literally never asked anyone for anything. It was just service because he cared, it was just love and kindness. I’ve never met anyone who did so much without asking for anything, ever. He was beloved here.”
Augie worked on the technical side of things at the college, most recently as the manager of LBCC’s IT Services department. Many people who encountered him through LBCC athletics were unaware of that fact, however, because he was a constant presence at Vikings sporting events as a volunteer.
“He was employed for over 40 years in an actual job that was totally different, and so many people thought he worked in athletics because he was just at everything,” said Totorp.
A Lakewood alum, Augie attended LBCC in 1979 and also began working as a student assistant at that time; he would become full-time with the school’s then-fledgling IT department in 1985.
Augie’s relationship with LBCC sports began decades ago, and Totorp got to experience it as a coach and an athletic director. Anyone who’s attended a Vikings football, volleyball, softball or baseball game over the last 20+ years has likely seen him there helping in some capacity.
“He has never missed a football game in my entire time here, he’s been a volunteer spotter for us at every game,” said Totorp. “People get paid to do that job but he volunteered.”
He would help with whatever was needed at any event, and went above and beyond that to feed generations of Viking athletes as well.
“One of my early practices as a coach in probably 2006 he comes to practice and says, ‘Hey I’d like to do something for the team, can I bring food after practice one day?’ Sure enough three days later he brings all this classic Hawaiian teriyaki chicken and rice and fed the whole team,” said Totorp. “I’ve seen how often he was doing that for other teams, he fed a lot of kids over the years. He was a great cook and he really loved cooking for people, he just cared so much.”
His willingness to help out and to mentor made him a wide network of friends on the campus, many of whom were in deep mourning after his passing.
Longtime assistant football coach–and former LBCC QB–Neo Aoga wrote, “I just don’t have the words to fully honor the incredible man you were. I know that day will come, but today is not that day…We will all miss you. Your love, generosity, and the way you showed up for everyone will never be forgotten.”
LBCC volleyball coach Tyler Jackson’s team was especially close with Augie in recent years, and she wrote a lengthy tribute to him:
“People always wonder what makes LBCC so special, and it’s people like you. You never missed a game, home or away. You were always a few feet behind our bench with an ice chest full of Gatorades. You organized potlucks, traveled with us to State, sat through pregame meetings, celebrated the wins and stayed close through the losses.”
Jackson said that Augie was a presence off the court as well, at the team Christmas party, presenting the program with a gold ball after a historic season, and in countless other ways.
“You had a special way of keeping people connected and making LBCC feel like family,” she wrote. “Thank you for loving and supporting our players, especially our out of state girls who didn’t always have family nearby. You made sure everyone felt supported, cared for, and at home.”
Augie’s volunteer service on campus didn’t just extend to athletics, either. He was heavily involved in several on-campus clubs including as the advisor for the Pacific Islander Student Association. His efforts all over the campus at LBCC earned him a recent induction into the LBCC Hall of Champions, the school’s athletics Hall of Fame. He was also recently honored by the Long Beach Century Club with a citizen’s award for longtime volunteer service to Long Beach schools.
“He just loved the kids here,” said Totorp. “But not just the kids–he loved the coaches, he was a part of everyone’s family.”
Augie is survived by his wife of 33 years, Lynda, their daughter April and son-in-law Jason, and grandsons Jack, Max, and Ben. In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to https://bit.ly/inmemoryofaugustluuga where a scholarship to LBCC has been established in Augie’s name.
