Coast teacher dies of COVID-19 complications. He was ‘an amazing part of our school.’
A veteran teacher at Vancleave High School has died due to complications from COVID-19.
Tom Slade became a favorite teacher and role model to many over his years teaching history and world civilizations at the school, alumni wrote on Facebook and on a GoFundMe page created to raise money for Slade’s wife and two teenage children.
He died on Sept. 6.
“Vancleave High School lost an amazing part of our school and community yesterday,” the high school posted on its Facebook page.
“Please continue to remember the family of Tom Slade during this difficult time of his passing. He was a true representation of a Vancleave Bulldog and we will forever miss his wisdom, wittiness, love for all students, and love for his school family.”
Vancleave alumnus Theron R. Payton wrote on Facebook that Slade was the reason he decided to major in history as an undergraduate at the University of Southern Mississippi. Payton first met Slade as a freshman in 2010, and took his history classes as a sophomore and junior.
As soon as you walked into Slade’s classroom, Payton said, you were hit by the smell of coffee. He always had a pot brewing.
“In short, Mr. Slade, speaking for myself and all our coffee breaks we’d have during the school week where we’d sit and talk about current events and administrations...both at a State and Local level...you always made me feel like I could do anything with my life, and I am so blessed to have known you for almost a decade,” Payton wrote on Facebook.
Slade’s lectures, Payton said, left you “wanting more.” Payton is now planning to get a master’s degree in history so he can teach the subject at the junior college level.
“He never let anyone in his class feel like they weren’t wanted in the classroom,” Payton said.
Slade wrote on his Facebook page on Aug. 30 that he was dealing with “pneumoniarona,” a combination of pneumonia and coronavirus. He had also had pneumonia in 2012 and 2016, he wrote.
Slade’s sister, LaGina Landstreet, said her brother was a “pun master” with a wonderful sense of humor. As kids, the two perfected their English accents by watching British television comedies like “To the Manor Born.”
“We grew up laughing,” she said.
Landstreet said Slade told her that he had been exposed to COVID-19 at a gathering outside of school. He tested positive on Aug. 24, she said.
John Strycker, superintendent of the Jackson County School District, said that counselors and pastors had met with administrators at Vancleave on Tuesday morning. They will be available throughout the day for students and staff in need of support.
Strycker said a team of about 35 district administrators meets weekly to discuss Jackson County’s coronavirus guidelines and response.
“Every week we realize this is a moving target and it is new and unprecedented,” he said.
Tom Slade first started teaching at Vancleave High School in 1991, according to his LinkedIn page. He had graduated from Vancleave himself in 1984. He was 53 years old.
This story was originally published September 8, 2020 at 12:18 PM.
