Remembering educator Kelly Kalinec

Over the Easter weekend, Linden-Kildare ISD lost one of its own.

Educator and Coach Kelly Kalinec passed away after sustaining injuries from a tree which fell on him at his home in Upshur County.

Severe storms that weekend ravaged the region with strong straight-line winds which toppled trees and power lines in the process.

Coach K was a 1978 graduate of Tyler Chapel Hill High School and graduated from Southwestern University – Georgetown in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree.

He also had teaching certifications in Special Education, Political Science/ Economics and Physical Education.

Along the way, he coached high school football, baseball, and softball and taught special education.

Before coming to L-K he coached high school baseball for 15 years, with stops in Union Grove, Ore City and Rusk.

In the classroom, he taught Government, Economics, History and PE.

At Upshur County Special Education Coop / Upshur Community School in Gilmer he worked with special needs kids and was instrumental in starting and building a charter school for boys living on Azleway Boys’ Ranch in Big Sandy which is for boys in drug rehab programs.

He taught all subjects and special education grades 3-12 serving kids with very special needs while working for Meadow Pines Hospital in a residential treatment facility under Longview ISD.

Coach K began teaching at Linden-Kildare High School in 2014 where he taught Special Education and Life-Skills Classes.

In his school biography Coach K states that his passion is and has always been to serve and help kids in any way. He loved working with kids, whether it’s in the classroom, out of the classroom, on the athletic field, youth league fields, local youth groups and organizations, even Vacation Bible School.

He also said he believes he found a “home” at L-K where he loved his teaching position and the wonderful students of Linden-Kildare HS.

He believed L-K had awesome students, a great staff and administration that make you feel like family, and a wonderful community that makes you feel like you belong.

In 2015 I had the opportunity to interview Coach K along with Bobby Horn who was the Editor of the Cass County Sun at that time.

He was asked by then AD Todd Elliott to step in as the Lady Tigers’ softball coach on short notice. He jumped at the opportunity to coach the softball team.

Baseball was in his blood. He played baseball while attending college at Southwestern University.

His father coached a team to a state title in baseball and his grandfather was a professional baseball player.

Although there were a few differences between baseball and softball Coach K jumped into the season headfirst.

Just a few minutes into the conversation I could sense Coach Kalinec’s passion for teaching and coaching.

Not just an overall feeling but for the kids at L-K in general.

Coach K displayed that passion by driving several miles from his home in Gladewater to L-K High School every day.

He was genuine in everything he said to us and you could feel the devotion he had for teaching, coaching, the kids and L-K overall.

In the 30 minutes of conversation with him, Coach K exhibited everything a school, student and staff could desire; an educator with a heart-felt declaration and passion for working with and helping kids.

Coach K leaves behind his wife Helen and son Clint who is a graduate of ETBU and lives in Ft. Worth.

Aside from his desire for teaching and fishing Coach K loved working with youth programs in his local community and church.

With his passing the world, community, his family and all of L-K CISD lost a man with as passionate a nature as any, but even in times of sadness memories of Coach K’s compassion for others and desire to make a difference in kids’ lives can warm any heart.