Don Gatewood, former coach at Plantation High
Don Gatewood, a former teacher, athletic director and football coach who spent more than five decades with the Broward County School District, died Wednesday after a battle with cancer. Hewas 77.
Gatewood started working at Plantation High School when it opened in the early 1960s and stayed there until 2012. As a teacher, football coach, and later, athletic director, he was known for always putting kids first.
“He was the kind of coach that you really wanted your kids to play for,” said Mike Roland, a student activities liaison for the school board who previously coached with Gatewood. “Because while winning was important and the sport was important, to Don, kids were more important.”
A fixture at Plantation High, where he taught social studies, Gatewood was admired by school staff and loved by students. He “bled Plantation white and blue,” Roland said, andwas highly involved at the school.
“He had a way with people, a way of connecting with people and making them feel important, and making them feel like he could help them,” said daughter-in-law Bethany Gatewood. “And he did.”
Rocky Gillis, now director of the Broward County Athletic Association, said he saw Gatewood as a mentor when he first got into coaching.
“He would help you regardless of what school you represented,” Gillis recalled. Gatewood wore purple – the color of rival team South Plantation High – when his son, Doug, became head football coach there. After 10 years at the school, Doug Gatewood stepped down last year to spend time with his dad.
Broward County schools were a family affair for the Gatewoods, with Don’s wife, Maxine, working as a budget keeper for Piper High School for 25 years.
Even after retiring from his post as athletic director for Plantation High, Don Gatewood continued working for the district. He volunteered as a junior varsity coach with his son until 2014, getting to coach two grandsons, and taught drivers education until August.
“I think he is a legacy name,” said Broward County Athletic Association Commissioner Damian Huttenhoff. “He’s part of the institution of Plantation High School.”