Brother’s death spurs SWFL woman to form foundation for mental health awareness

A woman in Collier County decided to turn her loss into awareness.

Margot Moran lost her brother, former NFL player Greg Montgomery, to suicide in August, so Moran formed the The Gregory H. Jr. Montgomery Foundation to honor her loved one and help people in our community struggling with mental health issues.

Montgomery could really kick a football. He was so good that he beat the odds and made it to the NFL.

“I was kind of his go-to girl when he would be practicing in the yard,” Moran said. “I’d catch his punts and all that.”

While she enjoyed playing receiver, Moran remembers Greg as a loving older brother.

“He’d make you laugh,” Moran said. “He was loyal. He was passionate.”

While working hard to be in the pros, Montgomery also struggled with bipolar disorder.

“He’d have extreme highs and extreme lows,” Moran explained.

This past summer, Montgomery didn’t bounce back from one of his extreme lows. On August 23, Moran got the call that her brother had committed suicide.

“It was complete shock. There are no other words. He had ‘the life.’ He was a wonderful athlete, a very successful athlete,” Moran said. “He had a family that adored him and supported him. He was one of the lucky ones. And if he could succumb to this, think about all the other people that could succumb to this and that have.”

Moran decided to take action. Days after her brother’s death, she started “The Gregory H. Montgomery Jr. Foundation for Ultimate Growth.”

The foundation has already paid to provide someone with mental health treatment, and it plans to have its first fundraiser scheduled for April 2021.

The goal is to get people to talk about mental health issues.

“I just thought of Greg and what he wanted. He just wanted people to be well and for them to feel accepted and heard,” Montgomery said. “He was a punter, a mentor, a coach, a perfectionist, just a lover of people.”

MORE: The Gregory H. Montgomery Jr. Foundation