TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – A beloved East Texas teacher and coach is being remembered after a deadly crash in Smith County.
Jonathan Ryal was among five people killed Thursday morning in a head-on collision on Highway 155 near Lake Palestine, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
DPS said the crash happened around 8 a.m. Thursday on Highway 155. Investigators identified the people who died as Ryal, Rhonda Lacy, Leshonda Shepherd, Cynthia Donnell and a 4-year-old child whose name has not been released.
According to DPS, Ryal’s vehicle crossed into the oncoming lane for an unknown reason and hit an SUV head-on. DPS said no one involved was wearing a seat belt, and the child was not in a car seat.
Ryal served as a teacher and soccer coach at Palestine ISD and previously worked in similar roles at Athens ISD. Now, people who worked with him and learned from him are sharing what they will never forget.
“It’s devastating,” said Joshua Burks, who coached alongside Ryal, “Jonathan was an exceptional coach.”
He said Ryal’s strength was relationships and could connect with students in any setting.
“He could build relationships with so many different kids from so different walks of life and be able to kind of meet them where they were and then get them to see that he cared about them because that’s what really mattered… I think that made me a better person and a better coach.”
Burks also remembered Ryal as a family man.
“He was a wonderful husband. He was a father. He talked about his kids constantly at work,” Burks said.
Former student Cesaleigh Monmouth said Ryal was more than someone at the front of a classroom.
“We considered him like an uncle, we always called him unc because he was very loving and caring,” Monmouth said.
She said the news of his death was heartbreaking.
“I was like overwhelmed. And at first I didn’t believe it. I was like, well, maybe they got the wrong person. He’s too good of a person,” she said.
Monmouth said Ryal had a way of lifting students up when they were struggling.
“Those who wanted to drop out, they didn’t because of him. Those who wanted to quit whatever sport, they didn’t because of him,” she said. “So there were times that some of us felt discouraged, maybe in sports or school. And we knew that if we stopped by his class in some way, we would be uplifted. And he was just supportive, caring, understanding—he stooped to our level.”
Monmouth also shared a personal memory that still makes her smile.
“I was his favorite knucklehead, I will say that,” she said.
Palestine ISD says funeral details will be announced once plans are finalized.
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