FAMU Rattler and Ojus educator dies before his final year

Alumni and colleagues gathered at Ojus Elementary School in Northeast Miami-Dade Sunday to say goodbye to beloved Coach Gregory Blatch, a FAMU graduate who taught P.E. for more than three decades. Blatch died last Thursday at age 61 from a heart attack just before his retirement next year at the school, located at 18600 W. Dixie Hwy near Aventura Mall. A petition is being circulated to rename the street in Blatch’s honor. He went to Florida A&M University and graduated in 1975 with a degree in science and physical education.



Farewell, Coach Blatch ...
MIAMI, Florida  -- When a teacher mistakenly put superglue in her eye instead of contact-lens drops, Coach Gregory Blatch splashed water in her face and stayed until the paramedics arrived.

If strangers came to Ojus Elementary who weren’t supposed to be there, Coach Blatch greeted them with his baseball bat and saw to it that they left immediately.

And if the coach caught a student running through the hallways, he’d be the first to make them turn around and walk properly.

Blatch, who for more than three decades taught physical education to thousands of Northeast Miami-Dade children, was set to retire at the end of the next school year.

He died Thursday at age 61 from a heart attack, leaving his former and current students and colleagues grieving for a member of the Ojus Superstars family.

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