WAYNESVILLE, Mo. -- Members of the Waynesville Community are remembering a coach who spent the better part of two decades with the district. 

It's been a tough year for the Waynesville community--recently mourning the loss of a high school student and now, preparing for the funeral of a beloved teacher. 

It's easy to find someone in Waynesville who knew Donald Nelson. 

"My first time meeting him, I was 10 years old," Mike Morris recalled of his coworker, Nelson. 

Nelson taught physical education at Freedom Elementary, where Morris serves as principal. 

"Unbelievable, when I heard the news," said Morris.

Nelson died Thursday night after a head-on collision on his motorcyle with the vehicle of a man who St. Robert police say was drunk. The driver, George Widener, 64, of Jerome, is charged with involutary manslaughter.  Police say his blood alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit for drivers in Missouri.

"The kids have taken it hard, the faculty,"  said Morris. 

Rather than think about the way he died, right now, his family is remembering Don's life.

"His smile and his words of encouragement, that you don't have to be the best, just do your best, and give back to the community.," said Nelson's sister, Yvonna Bays. 

Nelson led by example -- giving back to the community where he grew up.  He coached baseball and wrestling, working with hundreds of students in roughly two decades with Waynesville schools.

"The community has come forward and offered us tidbits about the way he touched them.  It is an honor and a privilege to be called his sister," Yvonna said.

Yvonna and her brother, Jerry, say those tidbits have helped them get through the last several days, and combined with the memory of their brother, will see them through those to come.

 "Remember his smile. Remember his sense of humor, and remember him with a smile, not a tear," Jerry Nelson implored of all who knew his brother. 

Services for Nelson will be Wednesday at the Parker Fine Arts Center at Waynesville Middle School at 2.