The Citrus County community is mourning the loss of a popular school coach.

  • Steve Ekeli, 48, killed in early morning crash
  • Ekeli worked at Seven Rivers Christian School, Citrus High School
  • Memorial service for Ekeli on May 23  

Coach Steve Ekeli was heading to work Thursday morning when he was hit head on and killed in the crash.

It was news that shook the staff and students at Seven Rivers Christian School in Lecanto, where the coach was the facilities manager.

"Steve loved it," Dana James, Head of School at Seven Rivers, said. "Over the two years whenever he would talk to me or when I would go out and talk to him at some point in the conversation he'd say, 'I love my job, I love my job.' We're going to miss him tremendously. He's going to be difficult to replace because he had the right mix of personality for what he was doing. He was the perfect guy for it."

But Coach Ekeli's impact extends far beyond Seven Rivers. He also had worked at Citrus High School and was a well-known member of the community. Friends and co-workers describe him as goofy and humble about the success he'd seen.

"He just kept his head down," Rayburn Green, Seven Rivers Head Football Coach, said. "He was focused on what he was doing -- doing a great job. Everything that he was putting his hands to do he was all into it. And in doing that he just really blessed and touched so many people,"

While at Seven Rivers, Coach Ekeli spent a lot of his time on the field as a soccer and football coach. Besides his humble nature, people in the area say he will also be remembered for his dedication to his students

Nicole House Lembo said her son was just one of the many athletes Ekeli inspired.

"[Ekeli] encouraged him," Lembo said. "My son went through some tough times. He had tough love on him but he also took him under his wing and helped him get through some rough times. He was one of his biggest cheerleaders,"

Because of that impact, she decided to show support for his family outside her cupcake business in downtown Inverness, just a few hundred feet from where the accident occurred.

Photo: Kim Leoffler

"A lot of people are going to be there when someone passes away right after it happens. But be there for the holidays be there in the next few months in the next few years because no one is ever going to fill that void in their life," Lembo explained.

There will be a service to remember Ekeli on May 23 at 4 p.m. at Seven Rivers.