A longtime Cedar Falls High School basketball coach and his wife have been killed in a car accident in Kansas. The Kansas Highway Patrol confirms that 73-year old Jerry Slykhuis and his wife Jane were killed Tuesday when a truck ran a stop sign and hit their SUV on U.S. 54 near the town of Liberal.
Former player and now Tigers head coach Ryan Schultz says Slykhuis will be remembered for his accomplishments both on and off the court.
“He meant so much to so many people, they’ve been members of the community for so long, members of the church family, our Tiger family at the high school , said Schultz. “He taught biology and coached golf. Both Jane and Jerry left their mark on a lot of people.”
Slykhuis retired in 2008 after coaching Cedar Falls varsity basketball for 32 years. He was inducted into the Iowa High School Athletic Hall of Fame the following year.
Schultz says although Slykhuis retired in 2008, he never stopped coaching.
“You’d see him at the Rec working with a kid, you’d see him in the gym, I was happy I got to run into him about a week ago, he was up helping one of our varsity players,” said Schultz.
In addition to basketball, Slykhuis coached golf for 15 years and taught biology. He also helped run a popular youth basketball camp at Waverly’s Wartburg College.
