Samuel A. McCoy, 88, a beloved former science teacher and track coach at Maumee Valley Country Day School who retains longstanding athletic records in Napoleon, died Thursday at Hospice of Northwest Ohio in Perrysburg.

His eldest son, Leland McCoy, said his father died from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease complications.

Mr. McCoy was born May 8, 1933, in Napoleon to John and Angela McCoy. He was a standout athlete in football and track at Napoleon High School and also played basketball. He was inducted into the schools athletic hall of fame.

“He was considered one of the greatest athletes ever,” his son said. “A lot of the track records from the 1950s, hurdles and sprints, still stand.”

Mr. McCoy once was been bound for the Olympics before coming down with an illness that kept him from participating in trials. He competed in football and track for a year at Bowling Green State University but decided to leave sports to focus on academics.

“He fell in love with biology,” Leland McCoy said. “He always loved nature. He liked to fish and loved animals. He was a country boy. That became his passion.”

He graduated in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree and later received his master’s degree from BGSU. An internship in 1956 at Maumee Valley began what became a 42-year career there.

“He went there for an internship and they liked him so much, they kept him,” his son said. “He had great charisma, great personality.”

Mr. McCoy quickly became a favorite teacher among students and was named chairman of the school’s science department in his sixth year. He was known for his laid-back style, humor, and creative lesson plans in biology, physical science, botany, anatomy, zoology, and physiology.

The school’s science wing bears his name.

“He would cater his lessons,” son Leland said. “He would always find what button to push to get somebody motivated.”

Sandy Blackstone, a former student who graduated in 1964 and maintained a friendship with Mr. McCoy and his family, said he had an immense impact on virtually every student.

“What he taught me was how to figure something out, how to think. And he taught all of us that,” she said. “He was just brilliant. He made it fun. He influenced so many lives.

“He was the biggest single influence on my life other than my family,” Ms. Blackstone said, noting many other former students say the same.

Mr. McCoy’s student biology team earned first place in the State Scholastic Examination for many years, often taking additional top places as well.

He started a summer school and a study-abroad program in the Bahamas, as well as Maumee Valley’s track and field program. Teams he coached celebrated numerous undefeated seasons, and the school track also bears his name.

“It grew from maybe 15 the first year to 30 to 40,” said the younger Mr. McCoy, who set track records at Maumee Valley under his father’s leadership. “He’d have 80, 90 kids coming to try out. Everybody wanted to run for him.”

Ms. Blackstone organized a retirement party for Mr. McCoy in 1998. She said nearly 350 people attended, and about the same number stood outside.

“Another couple hundred wrote in and said they wished they could be there,” she said.

Mr. McCoy told The Blade, “I think the No. 1 ingredient that goes into teaching is enthusiasm. Every time I go into a class to teach, I’m just as enthusiastic as when I taught my first one.’’

Son Leland said a nonstop flow of former students visited his father in hospice, telling the family Mr. McCoy was a father figure and guided them through personal and academic hardships. “He made everybody feel like they were his best friend and were special,” his son said. “It didn’t matter if you were somebody off the street or president of the United States. Everybody got equal treatment.”

Surviving are sons Leland, Aaron, and Jeremy, and three grandchildren.

Visitation is from 2 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at Witzler-Shank Walker Funeral Home, 222 E. South Boundary St., Perrysburg. A funeral Mass will be recited at 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Rose Catholic Church in Perrysburg.

The family suggests tributes to the church, Toledo Humane Society, or Hospice of Northwest Ohio.

First Published May 31, 2021, 4:00 a.m.