Felton Easterwood, who forged an accomplished career and cut a respected figure as a longtime coach and teacher at Holly Pond — and whose name adorns the gym in which he witnessed countless victories both on the bench and in the years that followed as a pillar of the community that loved him dearly — died Monday.

The West Point graduate and Cullman County Sports Hall of Fame inductee was 94.

A U.S. Army veteran who served in the Korean War, Easterwood spent the entirety of his 35-year teaching tenure at Holly Pond, where he coached basketball, taught physical education and later became principal before winning a term as county superintendent in 1990.

His education career at Holly Pond overlapped his wife Polly’s, who served as the school’s music teacher before they retired in 1988. Most importantly, though, it became a beloved place where the couple — having just celebrated their 73rd anniversary earlier this year — raised their three sons (Tim, the late Tam, and Tom) and built a life neither would have traded for anything.

On the court, Easterwood amassed a 178-122 record in 10 seasons with the Broncos, leading the program to a pair of district championships, an area title and an Elite Eight appearance before hanging up his whistle following the 1963-64 season.

He and Polly have been mainstays at Holly Pond games since and they could almost always be found sat in their tried-and-true seats at Tom Drake Coliseum when Wallace State began hosting the county basketball tournament — Felton intently taking in the action and Polly working diligently with crochet needles.

Mitch Morris saw that commitment each winter during his 17-season run as the varsity boys coach for the Broncos. Morris, who took over the program 40 years after Easterwood’s final campaign, said he valued any input the coach was willing to offer.

“He holds a special spot in my heart,” Morris said. “When I came back in 2004 to coach, he and Polly were there, home and road, until I retired. He was Holly Pond in a lot of ways. Even when he retired, he was still very much active in the sports and school community. He started our annual Thanksgiving tournament in the ‘50s, and that’s still going. There was a lot about our program that I went to him and got his opinion on.

“Watching the games, he was more laid back. He wasn’t going to yell or scream. We’d talk after a game and he might say good game or you might want to do this or that. It was always Miss Polly who talked to the officials and wanted to coach (laughs). But he was a one-of-a-kind guy.”

Chuck Gambrill, who coached Holly Pond’s varsity boys for seven seasons before the arrival of Morris, echoed those sentiments.

“He was such an encourager,” Gambrill recalled. “He was always over in Amen Corner and that made you feel good that he was there because you knew he was supporting you. When my kids were playing, he’d tell Meg and Molly what a great job they did … and he’d always say, ‘Keep it going.’ As a former player and coach, that always meant a lot to me. He was a special man — one of my heroes. You wanted to be like him because he did everything with class.”

To drive further drive that point home, Gambrill brought up a tale from his playing days.

“I had come over from Welti (before my sophomore season) and was going to be ineligible for the first three games,” he said. “But Mr. Easterwood went to Montgomery and appealed for me. I’ll never forget walking into the office and him telling me I was eligible. That’s just the kind of man he was. He cared about everyone.”

Scott Adams, meanwhile, remembers Easterwood in a variety of roles: principal, mentor, friend.

The former Holly Pond varsity girls coach, who spent 22 years at the school across two different tenures, recalled the respect Easterwood warranted as an administrator and the crucial support he offered not just to the basketball program, but all athletics — even long after retirement.

“Back in the old days, he was an extremely busy man,” Adams said. “But with him, no one had to wonder who was in charge. I wrote down the one thing that measures the magnitude of the man is that you respectfully fear him but genuinely love him — and that was Mr. Easterwood. You feared him because he did things the right way and he was going to get you if you did wrong, but you loved him because you knew how much he cared for you. As far as I’m concerned, there are few men in my life I respect more than him. He had that kind of influence on me.

“He had a lot of pride in the school and that carried over to the teachers and students. His legacy … he and Mrs. Easterwood have really become synonymous with Holly Pond. When they arrived here in the ‘50s, (Highway) 278 was a dirt road from just past the Jack’s all the way to Oneonta. That really puts into perspective the lasting impact those two have had on this community.”

Funeral services will be at Cullman Heritage Funeral Home on Wednesday. Visitation is from noon to 2 p.m. — with interment to follow at Holly Pond Cemetery afterward.