NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – An 84-year-old substitute teacher died Tuesday after collapsing at New Smyrna Beach High School, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Assistant Principal Julian Doster said Culver Leonard Revell Jr. was on his way to a classroom when he leaned against a wall. Two students tried to help him while others performed CPR and called 911.
Revell, who went by the name Len or Leonard, died at a hospital. His cause of death is not known.
Revell has been a substitute teacher at the school since 2012.
About four students witnessed the incident, the newspaper reported.
Counselors were available for students and staff.
According to his daughter-in-law, Revell served in the Korean War and graduated from Auburn in 1960 with an engineering degree.
He was married to his wife, Brenda, for 56 years and was a devoted father to five boys. He had 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild.
Revell became a Winter Garden celebrity of sorts due to his unique style of announcing his grandsons' Pop Warner football games.
"The family would like to express our extreme gratitude for the way the school, and especially those students, helped him in his time of need," Revell's daughter-in-law said. "If we could imagine what his last wishes would be, we would imagine he would ask people to shout, 'War Eagle!' and enjoy the ocean and help a child."
Students and staff at the school said they would miss Revell and his passion for teaching.
"He enjoyed every day of it. Always here bright and early. Always happy to help the students," student Chelsea Lewis said.
"He was a very kind man who cared very much about every single student that he dealt with and always had the right intentions for every single student," student Emily Musgroves said.
Staff said Revell was affectionately known as "grandpa" among some students. Doster said he was beloved and respected by the students, adding even though being a substitute teacher could be tough, he loved what he did.
"It's not easy to do it any age, but at 84 years old, if you're still showing up to a high school and you're spending all that time around these young adults, then that says a lot about your passion for being here and he was definitely passionate about being here for our students," Doster said.