DARLINGTON — Aaron Lancaster, a former star athlete at Darlington High School and later teacher, coach and principal at multiple schools in southwestern Wisconsin, died March 13, surrounded by family. 

Lancaster had battled cancer for more than a year. He was 48.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Lancaster made a name for himself across the sporting scene with the Redbirds. In 1990 he helped lead the Redbirds to a state title in basketball. He lettered in four sports — football, basketball, track and baseball. He spent three semesters at Northern Iowa on a football scholarship, then transferred to UW-Platteville to play basketball. In 1995, Lancaster helped the Pioneers win the national championship under coach Bo Ryan.

Lancaster received a bachelor’s degree in education and a masters in counseling. He married wife Denise in 1999, and the two had three sons: Carter, Cannon and Cody. He taught history and was a guidance counselor at Highland, and was the principal at Pecatonica from 2010-15. He then took over as principal at Darlington, where he also helped coach sports and was briefly the athletic director.

Following his death, condolences spread across the region and beyond on social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

“The entire Darlington School District is deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved High School Principal, Aaron Lancaster. Mr. Lancaster worked tirelessly to best meet the needs of his students and staff,” Darlington Community School District wrote in a Facebook post that had over 750 reactions and 115 shares in less than 24 hours. “The staff and students of Darlington School District extend our heartfelt sympathy to Mr. Lancaster’s family and thank them for sharing his talents, energy and his love of learning with us. The staff and students of Darlington School District that may need support during this time will have caring adults and counselors available to them on Monday and any additional days needed.”

Pecatonica Area School District also took to Facebook, “He was a kind person who always put others first. He loved all the kids at Pecatonica long after he served as principal at the MS/HS from 2010-15. He will be missed dearly in SW Wisconsin. Our hearts are with his family.”

A memorial fund was established in Lancaster’s name. Funeral services will be held March 20 in Darlington.