DULUTH, Minn. — Jim Malosky had a tough-guy image during four successful decades as Minnesota Duluth’s football coach, but those who knew him say he was a true family man with a love of life.

Malosky died Sunday afternoon of respiratory failure at the VA Medical Center in Minneapolis. He was 82.

Malosky coached at UMD for 40 years from 1958 through 1997, compiling a mark of 255-125-13, the most victories by a Division II coach at the time of his retirement. He never missed a practice or game in four decades. He officially retired in 1999, a year after suffering a stroke.

“My dad was incredibly competitive and had a great zest for life, and was grateful for every moment,” Lisa Malosky, one of three daughters, said from her home in Houston. “He was asked recently about the last 13 years, since his stroke, and he said they had been great years. He never complained, and the time he was able to spend with his family was a treasure.”

Malosky had been admitted to the hospital the week of Thanksgiving with pneumonia, made a brief recovery, and then was re-admitted Thursday and was surrounded by his family Sunday. He had lived at the accompanying Minnesota Veterans Home in Minneapolis for nearly two years.

Jim and Lilah Malosky were married for 51 years and raised four children in Duluth, and winning football games made Jim Malosky a local celebrity, the fringe benefits of which included doing TV ads for Duluth businesses.

UMD assistant athletic director Karen Stromme grew up three houses away from the Maloskys on Chester Park Drive and said she liked knowing someone famous.

“It was like living in the same neighborhood as a movie star because so many people were in awe of Jim Malosky. He looked like a celebrity,” said Stromme, former UMD women’s basketball coach. “He was a great dad, who loved his family.”