Memorial dedicated to longtime Holmes Middle School teacher and coach
Friends and family Saturday dedicated a tree and boulder outside Holmes Middle School in Wheeling to honor former Holmes teacher and coach Burt Perlow, who died at age 71 in November.
"If a kid couldn't afford something, he'd go buy it for him," former Wheeling Village President Greg Klatecki, who coached with Perlow at Holmes, said last December. "That's the kind of guy he was."
Klatecki and a small group of fellow retirees developed the memorial proposal after Perlow's passing.
A football player in his youth, Perlow taught physical education and coached wrestling at Holmes for many years. He also was a volunteer football assistant at Wheeling High School.
A believer in strength and conditioning programs for young athletes, Perlow was known for rewarding those who put in extra time in the weight room with T-shirts reading "Perlow Steel" on the front. The slogan honored the Perlow family's steel company.
Perlow retired in 2006 and was named to the Wheeling High athletic hall of fame in 2009.