'Newest assistant coach on God's team:' Slain teacher remembered as a hero

FLOWERY BRANCH — A sea of sports jerseys filled the stadium at Flowery Branch High School on Sunday as more than 1,000 people gathered to honor the life of Ricky Aspinwall.

Aspinwall, a 39-year-old math teacher and assistant football coach, was one of four people who were shot and killed last week at Apalachee High School in nearby Barrow County.

Matt Tanner, Aspinwall’s childhood friend, remembered Aspinwall for his love — of those in his life and of God.

“Ricky loved everybody all the time,” Tanner said. “All the time, no matter what or who you were.”

And the showing at Sunday’s memorial showed they loved him back. Hundreds of people lined up after the service to hug and give condolences to Aspinwall’s wife, Shayna.

Aspinwall, or “Coach A” as many called him, was “the best,” said Derek Tiller. The two coached together at Mountain View High School in Lawrenceville.

“How do I even describe or how do I even talk about — well, obviously it’s pretty simple,” Tiller said. “He was the best. He’s just the damn best at a whole lot of things.”

“I’ve been doing a lot of crying lately,” Tiller said. “I’m kind of tired of it, to be honest with you. It’s obviously uncontrollable. But every time I think I’m out of tears, they keep coming back. But, ironically, I’ve also been doing a lot of smiling and laughing about my boy. He’s literally nothing but a big ball of good thoughts and fond memories.”

Apalachee High student Colt Gray, 14, has been charged with four counts of felony murder. The teen, also accused of shooting and injuring nine others, made his first appearance in Barrow County court on Friday morning.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced that Gray’s father, Colin Gray, 54, has been also charged with four counts of involuntary manslaughter, two counts of second-degree murder and eight counts of cruelty to children. He also had a court appearance Friday morning.

In Flowery Branch, jerseys and T-shirts from Apalachee, Mountain View and Haralson County high schools — where Aspinwall has taught and coached — mixed in with many professional and college teams. An “A” made from blue and yellow balloons made a colorful backdrop to what could have been a somber event, but decidedly wasn’t.

Aspinwall’s family asked those who attended the public memorial service to wear sports paraphernalia. Many donned University of Texas shirts, Aspinwall’s favorite college team.

The service itself sometimes had the feel of a sporting event. The family walked to their seats to “Sail” by AWOLNATION and, after the Rev. Matt Lewis encouraged everyone to dance, walked off the field to “Friends in Low Places” by Garth Brooks.

“As a coach, familiar with fields such as this, in moments on fields such as this, the family knew Ricky would want them to have a walkout song as they entered and were seated,” Lewis said.

Tanner ended his eulogy by asking those in the stands to cheer for Aspinwall, like one would cheer for their favorite team.

“Since this is a celebration and this is a football field, and I think we do all know how to cheer when our team scores, I’m going to give you a three count in a second, and I want everybody here to cheer for Ricky as loud as you can, with all of your heart, as he is smiling down,” Tanner said. “The newest assistant coach on God’s team.”