Obituary: John Tanksley lauded as 'great man' and 'genuine individual'

Springfield Athletic Director Kevin Vaughn described John Tanksley as "a great man" and "genuine individual."

Tanksley, a longtime teacher at Norton and Northwest, turned 60 earlier this year and was preparing for his third season as Springfield football coach.

Vaughn announced Sunday night that Tanksley had died. The cause or date of death were not immediately available.

“We are all saddened by his passing, and we encourage the entire Springfield community to join us in expressing our deepest sympathies to the Tanksley family, and to the kids who respected him so much as a coach and mentor,” Vaughn wrote Sunday night on Facebook and Twitter.

“Coach Tanksley’s care and concern for his players and students was unmatched. His example of loyalty and support is a high standard that we will always be in pursuit of.”

Tanksley was trying to rebuild Springfield’s football program, which he guided to a 1-9 record in 2021 and an 0-10 mark in 2022.

Vaughn told the Akron Beacon Journal on Monday he knew Tanksley for more than 10 years. Vaughn, a 1997 Ellet graduate, served as Springfield football coach from 2008-2017.

Tanskley compiled a record of 22-38 as Norton football coach for six seasons from 2012-2017. His best season with Norton was an 8-2 record in 2013.

Earlier coverage: Springfield football coach John Tanksley dies, AD reports

“I respected John when I coached against him when he was at Norton,” Vaughn said Monday. “Between the coaching network and relationships built coaching against one another, he was a great guy. I have had a good experience working with John since he has been at Springfield.

“John was a 100 percent quality character and genuine individual. I would say when it comes to being a teacher and a coach, he is a student slash player-first mentality. He is always there for them no matter what time of day. The care and concern is genuine. John was loyal and trustworthy. He embodied all of those quality characteristics that you want around your program.”

Earlier coverage: Meet Make the Grade Amazing Teacher John Tanksley

Tanksley was a three-sport star at Lake who earned college degrees from Akron and Kent State.

Tanksley served as an assistant coach at six schools: Green (1991-1995 and 2010-2011), Lake (1996-1997), GlenOak (1998), Northwest (1999-2009), Brecksville (2018) and Kenmore-Garfield (2019).

Earlier coverage: Norton football on the upswing with coach John Tanksley

“Norton lost a great teacher and great friend to me and the program this weekend,” Norton girls basketball coach Brian Miller wrote on Twitter. “John Tanksley was always there when I needed help. He was a great supporter of the kids and always worked hard to help them.”

Tanksley was an assistant football coach on 12 OHSAA playoff teams: 1993 at Green, 1996 and 1997 at Lake and from 2001 to 2009 at Northwest. The 1997 Lake team finished as the Division II state runner-up with Jeff Durbin as head coach and the 2004 Northwest team was a Division III state semifinalist with Vic Whiting as head coach.

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Tanksley’s son, Corey Tanksley, was a sophomore starter on the 2004 Northwest football team. Corey was a four-year starter who graduated from Northwest in 2006 and was an assistant coach to his father in recent years.

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Ironically, Vaughn was a senior player on Ellet’s 1996 team that played against Lake when Tanksley was an assistant coach with the Blue Streaks.

Tanksley is survived by several family members and friends, including his wife, Denise Tanksley, and their sons, Corey Tanksley, Phillip Ferguson and Mike Ferguson.

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“John was a great man,” Vaughn said. “He is going to be missed.”

Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Obituary: John Tanksley lauded as 'great man' and 'genuine individual'