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Popular teacher/coach mourned

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The Haldimand-Norfolk Football League and Grand Erie District School Board are dealing with a second tragedy in the last few weeks.

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Martin MacNeil – a popular geography/history teacher and football coach in both counties – died either late Monday or early Tuesday. Few details were provided, but it was not considered suspicious.

MacNeil worked at a number of area high schools including Cayuga, Simcoe Composite, Delhi and Valley Heights in recent years. A father of three children under the age of 10, MacNeil spent countless hours coaching football and volunteering with community organizations and events.

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On Wednesday, members of the school board’s Tragic Event Team were at VHSS and other Grand Erie facilities MacNeil and his wife Sheena – an early childhood educator – have worked.

“Our hearts go out to his family,” said Valley Heights principal Alison High said Wednesday. “It’s a huge loss for not just our school community, but he’s been involved in a lot of schools over his teaching career and his loss will be felt by a lot of people.”

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“It’s a tough day, it will be a tough few days.”

Earlier this year, major football supporter Don Edwards and his son/McKinnon Park player Spencer were killed in a car accident on Oct. 31.

MacNeil spent five years at Cayuga Secondary where he revived the dormant Warriors program and for a time, coached alongside Don Edwards. In 2016 he transferred to Simcoe to be closer to home. He also made a quick stop in Delhi before beginning his tenure at Valley Heights this fall, taking over the Bears football program in the process.

During his short time at VHSS, MacNeil nominated two of his players – Erik Haines and Caleb Pype – to the Nissan All-Canadian Titan Team for being outstanding people on and off the field. The duo was awarded the opportunity to perform during Grey Cup week in Edmonton and also watch the game in person.

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“As soon as I heard Cayuga’s football team was folding, I made a phone call – that’s the kind of guy you want on your team for a lot of reasons,” said Haldimand-Norfolk Football League convenor and Simcoe Composite School coach Chris Harvey. “He’s a family guy, he’s a hard worker and the type of guy who wants to get the best out of his kids and he does it by example. He was constantly thinking football and talking football, helping out kids … because he knew the value of football and the family atmosphere it creates within the school.”

Harvey coached with MacNeil for two seasons, and said members of those SCS squads were “devastated” by the news.

“In my leadership class we start the year off talking about the characteristics of a good leader and Martin represented all of them,” said Harvey.

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“He was honest, caring, a professional educator, a family man.”

In his spare time, MacNeil coached his son’s baseball team, served as a Canadian Red Cross instructor and fundraised for the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

In 2016, he took part in the Highway of Heroes Ride – a 170km bicycle trek from Trenton to Toronto to support the Wounded Warriors Foundation. Two years earlier he spent 12 days alongside his father Andrew Godin – a 20-year Canadian Armed Forces veteran – doing the Wounded Warriors Battlefield Bike Ride in France.

Closer to home, MacNeil was a volunteer member of Norfolk County Fire Department Station 1 Simcoe.

“The Norfolk County Fire Department is like a large family, and the death of any of its members affects us all,” Norfolk County Fire Chief Terry Dicks said in a statement. “On behalf of Norfolk’s 254 volunteer firefighters, I’d like to extend my deepest condolences to the MacNeil family. Martin will be sorely missed by all.”

The GEDSB issued a statement Wednesday afternoon confirming the news. It stated that MacNeil had been with the board since 2008 and flags at each area facility were lowered in his honour.

“Grand Erie trustees and the senior management team would like to express their deepest sympathies to the MacNeil family, their friends and everyone connected to this loss,” it said.

“Understandably, it is a difficult time for many across the board.”

A public celebration of life will be held in the new year.

jrobinson@postmedia.com

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