MALVERN, Ark. — It was a sad day at Malvern High School.
Ken Williams, the school's band director, was hit by a car while helping someone on the side of I-30 Tuesday night.
Following Williams' sudden death, the beloved band director now leaves behind family, students, and colleagues in grief.
In honor of the many lives that he touched, students and staff at Malvern High School took time on Wednesday to share their favorite memories of Mr. Williams.
One consistent quality that popped up, from colleagues and staff both, was how selfless Mr. Williams was.
"When I heard about how he passed, I immediately thought about him trying to help someone. That sounds just like Mr. Williams," Assistant Band Director Jon Stevenson said. "His dedication to his students what was always in sight."
That statement was echoed by one of his senior students Ben Capes, who described Mr. Williams as "compassionate, passionate, and he was loving."
Mr. Williams taught at the school for 32 years, and while his title was band director, that wasn't the only thing that he taught his students.
"He was really big on scores didn't matter in marching season or concert season, it was the memories that mattered," Capes said.
His students said that even if they were half awake during his first period class, Mr. Williams would always make sure that each day started on the right note.
"He was always coming in, you know, he was smiling and greeting," Capes said.
"He was very adamant on that-- 'good morning'" Veronika Jergenson, one of Williams' students, said.
Mr. Williams' stood to serve as more than just the head of a classroom, he was also a colleague and someone that countless at the school called a friend.
"I have come to call him not only a colleague and a mentor, but also a friend," Stevenson said.
In his over three decades of teaching Williams also impacted generations of musicians as alumni shared photos from their own classes.
"The impact that he had on not only this district, but this community is, you know, that is his legacy," Stevenson added.
Some students, like Capes, intend to carry on his musical legacy through college.
"I mean, he's watched me grow up. I mean-- he's watched all of us grow up... I'm gonna be carrying on what he taught to the world," Capes said.
Capes, along with others, will remember maybe his biggest lesson of all.
"He wanted you to feel like you mattered to everyone else in here and to him," Charles Williams, one of Williams' students said.