I am the last ray of sunlight...
God saw that he was very sick
and a cure was not to be;
So He put his arms around him
and whispered, "Come with Me."
With tearful eyes we watched him suffer,
and saw him fade away;
Although we loved him dearly
we could not make him stay.
A golden heart stopped beating,
hard working hands are at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us,
He only takes the best.
This was the poem that was written on the back of the program for the funeral for my high school track coach and alebra teacher, Mr Wells, who passed away last Tuesday, May 10th. It was so unfortunate for a man so young to have lost his bout with prostrate cancer, but just from what everyone had to say at the funeral, both family and the other teachers and coaches, he could not have made more of an impact in our lives.
I remember him as the sarcastic teacher in my Algebra 2 class my freshman year...who always gave me a hard time, but would always encourage me to never give up, and that I had a lot of potential for such a little guy. There was never a dull moment in his classes. I remember one time when he brought in a little bottle of "Kick yo a$$ hot sauce" and dared one of the big football dudes to try a little drop. Needless to say, he could not handle it and was crying as soon as the sauce touched his lips.
I joined the track team because of the good natured relationship we had and the postitive influence he had on me...that I could take up any challenge and, with the right attitude and hard work, could come out on top. My freshman year, I was on the sprint team, where he was the specialized coach, and for the next 2 years, I moved on to the long jump and triple jump team, but was always under his leadership as our head coach. Throughout those 3 years, we remained undefeated and he ultimately went 105-1 at the helm of the Loyola Track Team. I did not continue my stay on the track team my senior year, looking back now, simply b/c I wanted a kick back year..., which, looking back now, I wish I had not done. He maintained a standard of excellence for the team and always inspired us to do our best.
I never passed up a moment to talk to Mr. Wells when passing him in the hallway, or during my free periods...I would always drop by his class just to say hello. After I graduated, I always said to myself that I'd go back and visit him, along with a few of my other favorite teachers. But as it happens to a lot of us, I never took that opportunity to come back. It was always, "I'm too busy," or "I'll go next time." Well, now, I have to accept that I never got to really talk to him again after so long because of me, not anything else. And it is things like this, that burn into my mind, to never wait to do something becuase you really never know...
'Til we meet again, rest in peace Coach...
Gregory Irvin Wells
Born: July 01, 1951
Died: May 10th, 2005
and a cure was not to be;
So He put his arms around him
and whispered, "Come with Me."
With tearful eyes we watched him suffer,
and saw him fade away;
Although we loved him dearly
we could not make him stay.
A golden heart stopped beating,
hard working hands are at rest.
God broke our hearts to prove to us,
He only takes the best.
This was the poem that was written on the back of the program for the funeral for my high school track coach and alebra teacher, Mr Wells, who passed away last Tuesday, May 10th. It was so unfortunate for a man so young to have lost his bout with prostrate cancer, but just from what everyone had to say at the funeral, both family and the other teachers and coaches, he could not have made more of an impact in our lives.
I remember him as the sarcastic teacher in my Algebra 2 class my freshman year...who always gave me a hard time, but would always encourage me to never give up, and that I had a lot of potential for such a little guy. There was never a dull moment in his classes. I remember one time when he brought in a little bottle of "Kick yo a$$ hot sauce" and dared one of the big football dudes to try a little drop. Needless to say, he could not handle it and was crying as soon as the sauce touched his lips.
I joined the track team because of the good natured relationship we had and the postitive influence he had on me...that I could take up any challenge and, with the right attitude and hard work, could come out on top. My freshman year, I was on the sprint team, where he was the specialized coach, and for the next 2 years, I moved on to the long jump and triple jump team, but was always under his leadership as our head coach. Throughout those 3 years, we remained undefeated and he ultimately went 105-1 at the helm of the Loyola Track Team. I did not continue my stay on the track team my senior year, looking back now, simply b/c I wanted a kick back year..., which, looking back now, I wish I had not done. He maintained a standard of excellence for the team and always inspired us to do our best.
I never passed up a moment to talk to Mr. Wells when passing him in the hallway, or during my free periods...I would always drop by his class just to say hello. After I graduated, I always said to myself that I'd go back and visit him, along with a few of my other favorite teachers. But as it happens to a lot of us, I never took that opportunity to come back. It was always, "I'm too busy," or "I'll go next time." Well, now, I have to accept that I never got to really talk to him again after so long because of me, not anything else. And it is things like this, that burn into my mind, to never wait to do something becuase you really never know...
'Til we meet again, rest in peace Coach...
Gregory Irvin Wells
Born: July 01, 1951
Died: May 10th, 2005
posted by lil jay at
4:14 PM
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