Former Grand Haven athletic director and Lakeshore Middle School teacher Kenneth Ranta died late Monday night in an single-vehicle crash in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The Ontonagon County Sheriff's Office discovered Ranta's body next to his Jeep at around 10 a.m. Tuesday.
Police believe Ranta, 57, of Spring Lake was driving north in his Jeep on South Baltimore Road in Stannard Township when he lost control of the vehicle and went into a ravine and struck a tree.
Police said it appeared Ranta was not wearing a seat belt. The sheriff's office said it was unknown if alcohol was a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.
"He was just a wonderful man - very well respected by our teachers, students and staff," Sue Richards, Grand Haven Area Public Schools' assistant superintendent for instructional services, said this morning. "We're just so saddened. He was a big part of our school family."
Ranta, originally from Ewen in Ontonagon County, served the Grand Haven school district as athletic director from 1996 to 2003. He then stepped into a new role as a math and science teacher at Lakeshore Middle School.
"Ken is a remarkable human being," said Jack Provencal, who took over as athletic director at Grand Haven High School when Ranta stepped down in 2003. "He was very dedicated to his profession and the kids. He will be sorely missed. That's a real tragedy. He's a good person. There's no other way to say it."
School board Treasurer John Siemion got to know Ranta when Siemion's son was a wrestler for the Buccaneers.
"Ken was an excellent athletic director," Siemion said. "He was easy to work with. He's going to be sorely missed."
Funeral arrangements are pending with VanZantwick Bartels Kammeraad Funeral Homes.
Richards said crisis team members would be at Lakeshore Middle School today and Thursday as a resource for students, parents and staff - although the district is currently on spring break. Further plans were still being made.
Ranta, who came to Grand Haven from a teaching and coaching position in Colorado, said in 2003 that he most enjoyed working in the classroom.
"In my years prior to coming to Grand Haven as an athletic director, I was always in the classroom as well," Ranta said at the time, when he stepped down from his athletic director post. "Coming here, it was a big change not being in the classroom, and I missed it. I saw an opportunity, interviewed for it and was able to get back into the classroom - which is why I went into education."
Tribune reporters Chris Epplett, Matt DeYoung and Beth Heinen Bell contributed to this report.
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