GAINES TWP., Mich. — The South Christian High School community is grieving Wednesday after the tragic passing of beloved teacher and coach Mark VanStee.
The first week of classes have been canceled as the school community mourns his loss.
Sources tell FOX 17 VanStee passed away after a car accident on Tuesday morning.
VanStee served as an economics teacher and golf coach at the school since 2003. His impact extended far beyond the classroom and the course, touching the lives of countless students and colleagues.
"He was a great kid. In fact, he's, I call him a kid, but I was a colleague or a classmate of his dad," said Bill Bonnema, who taught with VanStee for seven years. "Mark was just a great, great kid. He was very involved with the students, cared a lot about them."
His caring nature is something that many students, faculty, and friends will remember.
"He was always a great guy, wanting to always talk with all of us in the hallway," said Amanda Sculley. "I was on the girls golf team, so he would always stop us girls and talk and ask about our scores."
The girls golf team held a special place in VanStee's heart. He took over coaching duties halfway through the 2014 season after the passing of head coach Rod VanDyke, bringing a calming presence during a difficult time.
"Coach VanStee just embraced it, and he brought confidence for his knowledge of the game of golf, along with a piece for the game of golf, he was dealing with 16, 17 year old girls who we didn't know how to handle the situation," said Nicole VanDerYacht, a former player on the 2014 squad. "He was just a reassurance and a calm presence on our team. And there's no one else like I would have wanted to fill in that role."
The tragedy feels particularly difficult for players who have already dealt with the passing of one former coach.
"The coach who stepped in for us during that time also has now passed it. It's hard, like that aspect of it," said Hannah Knott. "It brings a lot of emotions back."
Under VanStee's guidance, that 2014 team went on to win the regional championship.
"He fully embraced, all of a sudden being around high school girls where we wanted and have fun, and he went and supported us in what we needed," VanDerYacht said.
WATCH: South Christian High School community mourns loss of beloved teacher
Bonnema, who retired in 2010, maintained his friendship with VanStee over the years. He last saw the father of three at a birthday party last month.
"He was having fun pitching, pitching to his son, and the birthday party had kind of a indoor or a baseball theme to it, and his son was batting, and Mark was pitching to him and his to his daughter," Bonnema recalled.
"It's going to be extremely difficult with him gone. It was such a terrible shock to all of us and the students," Bonnema said.
VanStee's impact on students went beyond academics and athletics.
"To have a teacher just kind of sit down and say, Hey, how are you doing? How's your family doing? Just to kind of ease that anxiety when you're in high school, is a huge, huge loss for students," VanDeryacht said. "Everyone who knew him knew how great of a person he was, how much joy he brought to life."
South Christian High School putting out a statement about their colleague:
"Mark lived his faith fully and boldly, knowing he was a beloved child of God. Over the years, his thousands of students knew God's love because Mark extended it to them. Mark was an excellent teacher who loved the challenge of taking the material from his required Economics course and showing students both the big ideas of how it all belongs under God's sovereignty and the practical ideas of how they could live out their faith with sound financial practices. As Dean of Students, Mark faithfully walked alongside students and their parents in difficult situations. He helped them see their own brokenness, know forgiveness, and begin on a path to restoration. As a coach, Mark's own competitiveness and love for sports challenged his student athletes to learn to play with excellence while still having a lot of fun. Mark had an uncanny ability to recall every hole at every golf course he ever played with astounding accuracy. The faculty and staff here will remember Mark's love for students, love for his colleagues, and ability to make a profound impact while never taking himself too seriously. Alongside Mark's family, the South Christian community is grieving a truly wonderful man who left a lasting legacy of faith, but we do not grieve without hope as we know that Mark is now living eternally with his faithful Savior, Jesus Christ."
South Christian High School will have its first day of school on Monday, August 25, giving students and faculty time to mourn the loss of a great man and friend.
