…And the best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep.” — Kenny Rogers, “The Gambler”

“The greatest thing you will ever learn, is to love and be loved in return.” — Nat King Cole, “Nature Boy”

Like so many people in the Wayland area, I was shocked and saddened by the unexpected death of Jeff Salisbury. It was he who was the first to tell me he was very much a supporter of Townbroadcast seven and a half years ago when I launched this on-line experiment. He and I had a lot in common, interest in politics, sports, journalism and music oldies.

However, I have found a silver lining in this recent tragic news, which for me is out of character. I am, in the infamous words of Spiro Agnew 50 years ago, a “nattering nabob of negativism.”

If you ever ask anyone to choose the circumstances of his or her death, virtually all of them would prefer to go quickly in their sleep, as noted by Kenny Rogers above. And that’s what happened to Jeff Salisbury. He went to bed Saturday night and did not wake up Sunday morning.

Too many people I’ve known have suffered and faced the awful reality of their demise, sometimes agonizingly slowly.

Jeff’s passing was somewhat of a surprise because for the last several years he was posting developments about his healthy lifestyle, particularly in what he was eating. He often could be seen walking around town.

The second piece of evidence I consider a silver lining is the overwhelming show of love for a man who deserved such accolades. I posted news of his death Sunday evening after 9 p.m. and by the time I had gone to bed there more than 1,000 views and a plethora of well wishes and positive commentary about what a great guy he was. In less than 24 hours the number of views was approaching 4,000.

Please note the lyrics in the Nat King Cole song above.

In a nutshell folks, Jeff Salisbury had tremendous positive impact on so many lives as a teacher, friend, mentor and leader. He was as good an example of a “town father” we’ll ever see or know.

The best part of all of this is that he was genuine. He really did care about you, about justice, about the schools and the community. I really couldn’t ever find anything phony about Jeff Salisbury.

He came to this town in 1985 to coach varsity football and teach. Four years later, he announced he was stepping down as a coach and declared that he and his program had accomplished everything except the wins.

Though many local people were disappointed with his football coaching, he was able to win them over in subsequent years because of his sincerity, compassion, integrity and intelligence. He was able to do something I couldn’t — have a pleasant discussion of a difference of opinion with some of the most ignorant people I’ve encountered.

The one incident I’ll never forget was his his gentle questioning of former Wayland Board of Education President Robert Wiersma who was making a damn fool of himself on the street downtown harassing a small group of local citizens protesting the invasion of Iraq.

I also remember him politely standing his ground as a dissenter on the Board of Education, and it cost him the presidency after one year because he wasn’t “a team player.”

Jeff Salisbury was an outstanding community servant, and he is being remembered fondly by so many for the right reasons. That doesn’t happen as often as you might think.

Indeed, he will be missed.

COVER PHOTO: For all the things Jeff Salisbury did in the community, his greatest love was reserved for his family, shown here.