The entire college football world went mute when the news of legendary Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz’s passing on March 4, 2026, broke on the internet–a painful memory for all the players, coaches, and fans who worked with him and watched him all these years. However, for Amy Martin, the news was a reminder of her painful memory of losing her father.

Watching the endless tributes pour in for Lou Holtz this week felt like a sudden, jarring trip to 1999. For Martin, seeing his name dominate headlines again reopened a deeply personal wound, as per reports, reminding her of the agonizing days when her father’s death was treated as a footnote.

For context, Amy Martin is the daughter of pilot Dewey “Sonny” Foster, who died in a plane crash on December 20, 1999. She still remembers the call she received with a heavy heart that said, “It’s Sonny. His plane crashed. He’s gone.”

Foster wasn’t just a casualty; he was a 35-year veteran pilot flying a routine route to pick up Holtz from a recruiting trip. That day, he was also on a grind, as he and his co-pilot, Joe Baier, had flown Holtz to Beaufort; after finishing this visit, Holtz planned to fly later that night to Morristown, New Jersey, to visit another recruit. Yet, when the plane went down in the dark marsh that night, the heartbreak of a family was instantly hijacked by the fame of its intended passenger.

Foster lost his life because of a broken neck, while his co-pilot, Baier, suffered some minor injuries. His last words were, “Get me out of here.” But unfortunately, it was too late. What made Amy Martin more furious is the story became more about how Lou Holtz escaped death narrowly while he was nowhere near the plane.

“Evidently, from what I understand, that was all over the nation,” Martin said. “That Lou dodged a bullet. Well, not really. Lou wasn’t anywhere near (the crash). He was on the passenger list to be picked up, but he wasn’t on the plane.”

Both Lou Holtz and retired NASCAR driver Cale Yarborough, who was also on the passenger list, came to Foster’s funeral. But even then, for Amy Martin, the pain was too deep, and media attention shifting towards Lou Holtz just made it worse for her, as Martin wanted to know about the kind of person her father was for her.

Who actually was Dewey “Sonny” Foster?

Foster was not just a university pilot. Earlier in his career, he worked as a pilot for Eastern Airlines and also served in the Air National Guard, where he retired as a brigadier general. Even in the 1990s, he continued flying because he loved being in the air.

In his free time, he liked to play tennis several times a week with a group of older friends called the “Geezers” at Forest Lake Country Club. Before working for the university, he also flew private planes for people such as retired NASCAR driver Cale Yarborough. Today, she remembers him as a loving father who died doing what he loved.

In the years after the crash, Amy Martin slowly starts to heal while remembering the life her father loved. She later meets Joe Baier, the co-pilot who survived the crash, and they have lunch together. Baier feels very guilty for surviving, but Martin tries to comfort him. She tells him, “It was a horrific accident. It is what it is.”

Later, investigators say the crash led to improvements in pilot training. Airlines began teaching pilots to watch their instruments more carefully and work better together in the cockpit. Knowing that the accident helped improve safety gives Martin some comfort. She also feels better after reading an article that clearly explains that a radio-frequency mistake may have helped cause the crash.

While decades of time and family brought Martin peace, Lou Holtz’s passing proved that grief is a cyclical emotion. Mourning her father today isn’t about resenting the legendary coach, but rather ensuring the man who actually lost his life that night isn’t forgotten once again in the shadow of a giant.