Northport teacher David Deutsch dies at 43

David Lowell Deutsch, the Northport High School teacher whose battle with Lou Gehrig's disease inspired hundreds of students to raise millions of dollars toward a cure, died Wednesday. He was 43.

Deutsch, of West Sayville, graduated from Connetquot High School and received a bachelor's degree from Stony Brook University and a master's degree in education from Dowling College before he began teaching biology at Northport High School in 1998.

Students instantly took to the captivating teacher they fondly called "Mr. D," said Don Strasser, who teaches chemistry at the school.

"He was just a hands-on teacher," Strasser said. "Always enthusiastic. Students loved him."

Deutsch's mother, Jeannette Deutsch Oglesby, said Deutsch spent time as a stockbroker and trained to become a pilot before finally deciding to teach.

"His ability to interact with people, his love of biology and science -- it felt like a really right thing for him to be doing," Oglesby said.

In 2004, Deutsch announced to his students that he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS -- also known as Lou Gehrig's disease -- but he continued to teach for another year until the effects of the disease forced him to resign.

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After Deutsch's announcement, a group of students approached Strasser, wanting to do something for Mr. D.

Their efforts, which began with a basketball tournament, ultimately became A Midwinter Night's Dream -- a nonprofit formed in 2005 that has raised $2.5 million for ALS research.

ALS is a degenerative nerve disease that causes a loss of muscle control. There is no cure, and the disease often causes death within three to five years, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Strasser, the nonprofit's executive director, said even students who never took a single class from Deutsch have felt a connection to him.

"They would visit him, speak to him, get inspired by his passion, his courage and his determination to beat this disease," Strasser said.

The group holds a gala at Oheka Castle every January; this year's event, on Jan. 12, raised more than $500,000, Strasser said. Deutsch, who had been hospitalized the day before, was unable to attend.

"It was such a bittersweet moment," Strasser said.

In addition to his mother, Deutsch is survived by his wife, Dorothy Deutsch, whom he married in 1994; sons Andrew, 11, and Ethan, 8; stepfather John T. Oglesby of Oakdale and Wilmington, Del.; sister Suzanne Callis and her husband, John Callis of Sayville; grandmother Ann D. Miller of Indianapolis; as well as an extended family. His father, Lowell Deutsch, died in 1996. A funeral service was held Saturday, and Deutsch was cremated at Washington Memorial Park in Coram.