Longtime Wayland High School teacher, coach and community activist Jeff Salisbury died at his home in his sleep early Sunday. He was 70.

His son, Mike, posted this evening on Facebook, “I don’t really know how to do this. My apologies if I didn’t speak with you yet but we lost my dad today. Passed in his sleep apparently. Thank you in advance for your prayers and support for my mom and our family.”

A native of Howell, Salisbury came to Wayland in 1985 to coach the varsity football team. He resigned after four seasons in 1988, but continued as a social studies, language arts and journalism teacher. He also served on the Wayland Board of Education for a four-year term, from 2011 to 2015, one of those years as president.

He also has been active in the community, with the attempt to resurrect the Dahlia Festival and as an active member of the Allegan County Democratic Party and the WayDems.

Salisbury also wrote a weekly column for Townbroadcast about education issues.

His children, son Mike and daughter Shelly, also have been active in the community. Mike is involved with the Downtown Development Authority and owns and operates the Reno Insurance Agency. Shelly was a member of the Board of Education for four years, served as secretary at the Reno Agency, and she has been an enthusiastic supporter of Wayland’s athletic programs.

Wife Penny in recent years has been volunteer coordinator for the Wayland Community Education senior citizen programs.

Former Wayland language arts teacher Andrea Villreal posted, “Wayland family, we have lost a bright, intelligent light today. Jeffrey L Salisbury passed away this morning and I will deeply miss his posts, almost-daily messages, and informed insight. I had so many exchanges with him over the years. We discussed politics, diet, union stuff, parenting… He was always kind, never judgemental, and always so encouraging. I will miss him terribly.”

Tammy Miller Thomas said on Facebook, “Mr. Salisbury was that HS teacher that continued to care for his students even after retirement. When he heard I was gonna lose my job, he sent me words of encouragement and constant job postings when he would come across them. He encouraged my new healthy lifestyle and shared his diet advice with me… He was so passionate about our community and our school system.”

Information about services and visitation will be forthcoming.