LANCASTER TWP — The McGonigal family will be celebrating their first Christmas without beloved father and husband Tim, but their friends in the Seneca Valley Junior Football Association North are trying to ease the financial burden of the holidays for the grieving family.

The junior football association organized a spaghetti dinner on Dec. 3 at the Zelienople American Legion to benefit the Lancaster Township family.

Mandi Yeager, event coordinator and secretary with the association, said it was the least they could do for the family that has been heavily involved with the group for years.

“He helped paint the field or cheer the boys on,” Yeager said of Tim McGonigal. “He never missed a practice, never missed a game. He was just an all-around great guy.”

The McGonigal family has been involved with the junior football association for the last six years as both boys, Dace, 17, and Aiden, 12, played the game, Yeager said. This was Aiden's senior year in the association before he aged-out.

If you go …

The Spaghetti Dinner Benefit for the McGonigal Family will be held 1 to 5 p.m. Dec. 3 at the Zelienople American Legion, 308 W. New Castle St. Tickets are $10 a person, Activities include a 50/50 raffle, Chinese basket raffles and live entertainment. The event is sponsored by the Seneca Valley Junior Football Association North