Longtime Northport Educator & Coach Sonny Aaron Dead At 87

NORTHPORT, AL — Longtime Tuscaloosa County educator and coach Walter S. "Sonny" Aaron died Thursday, less than a year after the passing of his wife, former Northport mayor, councilwoman and teacher Donna Aaron.

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He was 87.

"Sonny was a great guy and a great coach," Northport Mayor John Hinton told Patch after receiving news of his death. "It was always great to visit with him at City Hall while Donna was mayor. He will be greatly missed."

Living most of his life in Northport, Aaron graduated from Tuscaloosa County High School and later received a degree in physical education from Livingston University — now the University of West Alabama.

Aaron would go on to teach history and other courses, while also coaching for almost 34 years in the Tuscaloosa County School System at Tuscaloosa County High School and Northport Junior High, in addition to serving for a time as the youth baseball director of the Northport Pony League.

During his long tenure teaching at his alma mater in Northport, he was also joined by his wife and fellow beloved educator Donna, a respected math teacher who would go on to become the first woman elected mayor of Northport.

"He enjoyed watching various athletic events and going to his camp house on the Tombigbee River," his obituary states. "He was a tough, but loving husband, grandfather, father, teacher, and coach. His presence will be greatly missed."

After a brief stint teaching in Columbus, Georgia, Wetumpka native Donna Aaron came to Tuscaloosa to get her master's degree in math education from the University of Alabama.

In a 2021 interview, she told Patch that this is when she met the love of her life, Sonny. The couple had two sons, Michael and Brian, and six grandchildren: Davis Aaron, Walt Aaron, Laura Beth Aaron, Maggie Aaron, Sarah Aaron, and Logan Rigsby.

As Patch previously reported, Donna Aaron died last August at the age of 79.

"He was a good friend," State Rep. Ron Bolton, a Republican from Northport, told Patch. "Coach and Donna were good friends. I know he had an influence on a lot of students over the years."

To honor the late mayor's memory, both Sonny and Donna Aaron were named Northport Citizens of the Year last October. Sonny accepted the award on behalf of his wife and fought through tears when speaking to the crowd, but still managed to grab a couple of laughs during the ceremony.

"I don't have a whole lot to say, except how happy this wonderful woman was six years ago when she became mayor of Northport by the good people," Sonny Aaron said when accepting the award. "Well, I'm sure she's standing in heaven today just as happy because she got that award."

Tuscaloosa real estate mogul and Tuscaloosa County High School graduate Stan Pate, in interviews with Patch, previously credited Donna Aaron as an important influence during his formative years and said Sonny Aaron played the same kind of role for countless young people during his career in education.

With a hearty laugh, Pate, in an interview on Friday, recalled Sonny's dedication to discipline and remembered well the wooden paddle with holes cut into it that the coach and teacher wielded.

Aaron was far from the first to implement such a strategy and Pate said it was probably the reason many turned out to be law-abiding citizens when they became adults.

"He was a good coach and a good father," Pate told me. "Coach Aaron was fully dedicated to discipline and committed to his students. People say you don't mess with Texas, but you certainly didn't mess with Coach Aaron."

An honor student for his entire academic career, Pate reflected on a rare "B" grade he received in high school with Sonny Aaron as his driver's education teacher.

"I think we were going down Highway 82 and I mashed the accelerator and didn't let up on it," Pate chuckled. "When we got back, he got out his board and then I still got a 'B.' He did everything he could to be a good role model for kids and discipline was number one for him. If you were on the football field, he demanded it and I know he positively impacted a countless number of people's lives."

Longtime Tuscaloosa County Probate Judge Hardy McCollum was a close friend and political ally of Donna Aaron, and said his first interaction with Sonny came when McCollum was playing fast pitch softball as a 15-16 year old.

"He’s always just been a great guy and good friend," McCollum told Patch. "When we all get older, he couldn’t hear good, was wearing a hearing aid, and I would always love to mess with him, moving my lips like I was talking and pick at him. ... "We went back a long way with fast pitch softball and Sonny was a real mainstay in that and it was a big thing back then. On the political side, he was always a good supporter and good friend and you respect people in education for the way they were, because young people meant something to him and he cared about them. He was tough but fair."

According to his obituary, graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 3, at Tuscaloosa Memorial Park.

Pallbearers for Aaron's funeral will be Dwight Barger, David Christian, Mike Griffin, Wardy Jacobs, William Leavell, Danny Long, Jimmy Maddox, and Gary Mims.

Honorary pallbearers include: Dr. Earl Stewart, Dr. James Robinson, Dr. William Hill, Alan Harper, Northport First United Methodist Church, friends of Two Rivers subdivision, and all former colleagues, students, and players from Northside High School, Tuscaloosa County High School, and Northport Junior High.

In lieu of flowers, his family asks that donations be made to the Northside High School athletic programs. Checks can be mailed to Northside High School, Attn: Jenny Pearson, 19230 Northside Parkway, Northport, AL 35475.

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