OWASSO, Okla. — Allan Trimble is most widely known for his coaching career at Jenks, but he impacted countless lives before that when he started his teaching career at Owasso in the late 1980s.
Shel Eugene Cox has his own, unique story of Allan Trimble. It began at Owasso High School in his sophomore year math class. Even then, Trimble went by "Coach Trimble", but he wasn't Cox's coach. Trimble was his math teacher and frequent mentor.
When it was time to graduate, Cox had plans to go off to join the Navy. That's when he got words of encouragement from his former teacher.
"Those are memories you never think about when you're a kid, and then 25 to 30 years pass as life happens, and then you have a situation like this where someone like him had become so influential," Cox said.
Now, Trimble's two schools will clash as Owasso takes on Jenks for the state championship.
"He was this very vibrant personality, people gravitated toward him. It's just something you don't think about at school until years later when you hear about something like this," Cox said. "Coming from a small town in Texas and going to Owasso, it was kind of intimidating... Watching him with the other students, watching him laugh with him and carry on, he made it very easy to talk with him and know him."
Now with the Tulsa Air National Guard, Cox looks back on those days with Trimble with fond memories, wishing his best to Trimble's family and everyone who shared him with all of Green Country.
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