Mark Sykes said there’s really not a part of his life that Tim Holt didn’t influence.

Sykes, a longtime teacher, coach and administrator in DeKalb School District 428, said Holt was an invaluable resource when he was starting out as a coach. He was also the one who sparked Sykes’ passion as a driver’s education teacher. Their relationship even extended beyond the halls of the high school as they became friends.

“He was like a brother and a mentor for things inside or outside the school,” Sykes said. “If it was teaching or athletics or your personal life, he was there.”

Holt, a month past his 75th birthday, died Nov. 29 in his DeKalb home. No cause of death was listed. He is survived by his wife, Pamela.

According to information provided by the district, Holt started teaching in the district in the 1976-1977 school year. He coached track for 29 years and was a football coach from 1976 until 2018. He retired from teaching in 2017.

He was the head football coach from 1985 to 1989 and 1995 to 1997 according to the IHSA website. He led the Barbs to the playoffs in 1989, their first trip since 1981. They wouldn’t qualify again until 2010.

He was also an offensive lineman for NIU along with his twin brother, Tom.

Sykes said Holt was a DeKalb icon.

“I think collectively the brotherhood is taking this one pretty hard,” said Joe LaPointe, a 1983 graduate of DeKalb and football player whose son Hayden also played track and football for Holt. “I think it’s because of the tremendous amount of respect that coach Holt had and how the players who played for him admired him and maintained a friendship with him. ... He was a tremendous influence in my life and someone I’m going to miss greatly.”

LaPointe said he always knew his son would be in good hands with Holt as his coach, regardless of the sport. With how long he was at the school, teaching multiple generations of Barbs wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for Holt.

Holt had Craig Donnelly as a student in the late 1970s. Then in the late 2000s his son Dylan Donnelly ran track under Holt.

“He was the standard not only as a coach but as a person,” Dylan Donnelly said. “He treated everyone the same. It didn’t matter if you were all-state or third-string. He treated everyone with respect. He always saw potential in everyone and cared for everyone he worked with.”

Donnelly said Holt’s relationship with his father was very close and said that went full circle with him. In his last conversation with Holt the Tuesday before his death, he said he told Holt he was expecting another child.

“He doesn’t have kids, so we created a good bond,” Dylan Donnelly said. “He was almost like a dad or a grandfather when I was an athlete for him. ... When I got to coach, I thought maybe it would be a little different, he’d see it through a different lens. But nothing changed. He approached it the exact same way, giving me that same support, trust and confidence.”

DeKalb cross country coach Mike Wolf, who came to the school in 1999, said as a young coach he was looking for any kind of lesson he could learn from more experienced coaches.

It didn’t take him long, he said, to see how well Holt interacted with and cared about his athletes.

“He was a DeKalb guy,” Wolf said. “No matter what sport, he’s always rooting for kids wearing a DeKalb jersey.”

Holt was still frequently at DeKalb football games and other sporting events, including the home track meet that bears his name, held in early May.

Sykes remembers seeing Holt at the Barbs’ final home football game of the season on Oct. 17, about six weeks before his death, as DeKalb took on Andrew.

“He sat in the north end zone and he’d bring his binoculars,” Sykes said. “He’d be watching the offensive line, still coaching from afar. I would assume, and only hope, he’s still doing that now.”