Linda Walker, Illinois Kindergarten Teacher, Hangs Self In Classroom

The body of kindergarten teacher Linda Walker was discovered hanging in her classroom in Caterville, Ill. by a coworker early this week, the Southern Illinoisan reported. The teacher reportedly performed CPR until paramedics arrived to rush Walker to a nearby hospital.

Walker was pronounced dead Tuesday morning.

Around 30 counselors are helping students at the school cope with the loss, the Daily News reported.

Adding to the community's shock is the fact that Walker hanged herself the same day funeral services were held for another Caterville kindergarten teacher.

Lynn Byrnes died on Thursday after complications arose from surgery. Byrnes suffered from Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome, which prevents a sufficient amount of oxygen from getting into the blood.

An obituary published in The Southern echoes the positive impact Walker had on her students and everyone else in her life:

When Linda Elaine Walker would walk into a room instantly the room became a better place. She would make people smile with her storytelling ability, laugh until it hurt with a vivid demonstration, and gladly with much love tell the story again, and again for the delight of others. These stories became real to many friends and family through her compassion she had for all who shared her life and were fortunate enough to have listened.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Linda Walker Scholarship Fund at SIU Credit Union or St. Francis Community Animal Rescue and Education, 6228 Country Club Road, Murphysboro, IL 62966.

In September, school teacher Alice Davis went missing during a weekend shopping trip. Days later, her husband Jesse Davis was found dead of a self-inflicted injury at the couple's home in Maryland.

Last year the body of 5th grade teacher Rigoberto Ruelas was found at the foot of a forest bridge in what authorities said appeared to be a suicide. Despite continued investigations, colleagues of Ruelas said he had been upset about a teacher rating.

Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.

Comments

[pickle541]

05:18 PM on 10/10/2011

Is anyone thinking that the job stress and atmosphere in schools needs to be addressed? If not, they should, and WHY NOT? It's not just the health and well-being of students that we should be concerned about when social wars are being fought in school hallways, and teachers are being blamed for all sorts of things, from the economy to the budget to competing with China to raising children who are not getting support at home.

The schools are in crisis. Sure, you can tell me that this was one person who was ill, but when you read about her, she was heralded and held as one of the best teachers in town. Why then did she kill herself at school. These things ARE connected. Depression or Bipolar can be caught and treated, very successfully. It would be very short sighted to overlook why one of the BEST teachers was lost and not look to how the community should protect its leaders.

[Tanmag]

09:06 PM on 10/09/2011

A little insensitive, don't you think? I have 5 preps; teaching 5 different social studies subjects daily in both middle and high school. I work nights and weekends with little to no time for a life other than teaching. I care about kids and want to do a good job but the expectations are becoming unreasonable. Yes, I'm grateful to have a job, but at what cost? People work to live, not live to work. I'm always tired and sleep-deprived; it's difficult to be in a good mood and care about kids when you exhausted and overwhelmed with no time to decompress. Many teachers are on anti-anxiety medicine and suffer depression. I can tell you I've never been so depressed and am considering leaving the profession before it kills me. By the way, I pay about 1,500 per year for an individual policy, not very much different than others who work for large companies. If you think teaching is such an easy profession, become a teacher. Otherwise stop talking out of your orifice which passes flatulence.

[RadicalAmerica]

09:55 PM on 10/09/2011

I sympathize. My mother taught for 28 years at a jr high and high school level. But why should teachers be treated any differently than the rest of us working? I sell insurance for AFLAC. I have many school districts in my portfolio. When I hear some of them talking it makes me cringe.
One told me she had a baby last year. I asked her how much she paid for it. She couldn't comprehend what I was asking. She said "All I did was go into the hospital and hand them my medical card and I got a baby."
I told her my baby cost me about $5000 in co pays and deductibles. Still she looked perplexed.
Your health benes are not in direct proportion to the work you do or how overwhelmed you seem given a 9-10 month work year. Its time for union people to start paying for their benes. If anyone is on the frontline, its me.

[RadicalAmerica]

09:59 PM on 10/09/2011

Your $1500 a year is peanuts. HMO or PPO? I sell both and most have a $3000 or 5000 deductible with co pays. My buddy pays $250 a week for him and his family. This is the REAL TRUTH out here. I would suggest if you are paying 1500 to take the stress and stay where you are because you won't like the real world and what it takes to survive. And that comes out the orifice that knows more than you.

[Stacey Jones]

12:29 AM on 10/08/2011

RIP to Linda Walker. I hope she is at peace now. I'm sending my love to her family, friends, and loved ones at this time. I'm also sending support to her co-workers and students.

Suicide is often misunderstood, stigmatized, and not talked about openly in our society which causes even more pain. This woman was in so much pain she hanged herself in a school building. I doubt she was in the right mind so have some empathy.

Suicide along with mental illness needs to be talked about more. Too many people are suffering in the dark and dying because of it.

[eveofmoonlight]

10:59 PM on 10/07/2011

A teacher is required to report to the front office to sign in usually...­if one doesn't appear then they try phoning her....if they can't reach her and it's obvious she is not on the grounds they go to her classroom and look for her sub folder or lesson plan book because teachers plan ahead...th­e likeihood that a kindergart­ener would just waltz in unoccupani­ed to a classroom is zero since students are not allowed anywhere unsupervis­ed......sh­e probabaly didn't show up for work, students were waiting in the cafeteria or auditorium to be escorted to the class by the teacher this is typical procedure for young students who have trouble "making it to class" due to age. When she didn't show up a supervisor checked her room hence they found her.

[miauctions]

10:46 PM on 10/07/2011

People ... People... People... What do you not see in the title of this article?! If this teacher did not commit suicide at her home.. NONE of this would make Worldwide News!! The whole "Wow" factor is the very point on "WHERE" she elected to take her life. If she did the right thing and took her life in her own home ... out of any possible viewing of young children... then none of this would have been posted. BUT .... she elected to display her sad life in an action in a public place. Why? Who knows!! But the point is that she chose a place totally unacceptable and inappropriate for the young children. So if she "adored" her students...then she chose a place where her students may have witnessed such a horrific action. So adoration for her loved ones... students... co-workers... were never considered in her last action on earth. Quite pathetic!!

[ChampionWriter]

10:09 PM on 10/07/2011

I saw on the other page that all the children had gone home when Linda Walker committed suicide at about 4:30pm. My condolences go out to her family and friends. Obviously, she was not in her right mind or would not have done this. Some fear taking medications and the possibility of losing a job, or too much stress. Once depression hits heavy...it's like a freight train that no one can stop, not even Linda--a beautiful person from what we hear. May her memory be cherished.

[commloanaudits1]

07:30 PM on 10/07/2011

Even Kindergarten kids can be very difficult and already some want to be bad. I took a whistle to class(I subbed for Kinder)and instead of blowing up,I just blew my whistle and lost my job for it here in Illinois[Can someone please tell me what I did so wrong?]. Its hard to be politically correct always even when kids are very difficult.

[Mr Anonymous]

08:58 PM on 10/10/2011

In my experience kindergarten is one of the hardest grades to teach. Too many students now a days have no concept of any type of social skills. So not only do kindergarten teachers now have to teach a lot of new content, since kindergarten is the new 1st grade, they also have to teach them a mountain of social skills as well.

[tainteddr34ms]

12:24 AM on 10/11/2011

Just a wild guess, but it's a possibility: Most whistles when blown indoors are well above the 100 decibel level and any sound above 100 can cause hearing damage. When I was in school during the 80s we had a teacher disciplined for always blowing his whistle and that was the reason why.

[MaryfromIL]

07:05 PM on 10/07/2011

I never took anti-depressants and have had severe downswings of emotion since I was 20. They didn't have good anti-depressants without side effects back in the day. When I developed a severe auto-immune disorder, I was suicidal half the year.

I finally took low dose Cymbalta for depression and pain from illness, and I am the happiest person you have ever seen now.

Even when I wasn't down before, I didn't realize how little of my life I have spent happy. Plus it stopped my osteo-arthritis and fibromyalgia pain, which also makes me happy, and I can now start working out a little again.

Some of us, my son and my ex and I, have chemical disorders. Therapy helps, but pills help more (combined with therapy).

[lawdetective]

05:24 PM on 10/07/2011

It is a truly awful thing to have to go through. For her entire family, friends and students I offer my heartfelt condolences to. But, please tell me why she had to do this in the school? Just imagine if she had forgotten to completely lock the door or if there was a window partially open where one of the students would have seen it. I am truly sorry for this, but the location makes me less so.

[roaddawg31]

11:10 PM on 10/07/2011

Never mind her INTENT was to have a little kid stumble into her room and have to see that... I wonder if you have the same empathy for (teacher) child molesters, who certainly are equally troubled mentally. The intent (to scar children) was clearly there.

[eveofmoonlight]

02:35 AM on 10/08/2011

A teacher is required to report to the front office to sign in usually...­­if one doesn't appear then they try phoning her....if they can't reach her and it's obvious she is not on the grounds they go to her classroom and look for her sub folder or lesson plan book because teachers plan ahead...th­­e likeihood that a kindergart­­ener would just waltz in unoccupani­­ed to a classroom is zero since students are not allowed anywhere unsupervis­­ed......s­h­e probabaly didn't show up for work, students were waiting in the cafeteria or auditorium to be escorted to the class by the teacher this is typical procedure for young students who have trouble "making it to class" due to age. When she didn't show up a supervisor checked her room hence they found her.

[pickle541]

05:20 PM on 10/10/2011

I'm thinking her intent was to die. Any other purpose is just conjecture. People who get to that dark place aren't weighing things the same way healthy people do. Instead, focus on keeping the community healthy than blaming someone who is gone.

[Shari Greer]

03:42 PM on 10/07/2011

" Suicide is the ultimate selfishness"... Since I had one parent attempt this, and another that succeeded, my odds in my family are 1 in 3 that another suicide will happen. Those are very scary facts. Selfishness is NOT the issue. I had once thought that, when my father commited suicide by swallowing a rifle and blowing his brains all over his room. But that act was not a selfish act... he was sick, his wife was running around, and that morning his poodle had run out the front door and was killed. His actions were awful. But life without any joy can also be a death sentance. I forgave Daddy. It took me a long time, but I understand. That one little dog, loved him no matter what. It was the joy of his whole day. He didn't want to live without the one 'person' who he cherished. This woman had a reason. She was depressed. But to make her a bad person, for any reason due to this action, is unfair. She, nor do other suicides, are thinking of themselves.... the pain of living got to be too much, and that is the sad part.
I hope her family forgives her. I hope her students are taught not to condemn. But most of all,
an understanding of this horrific event, can help them come to terms with it. Let's pray for them. Not condemn her.

[roaddawg31]

11:18 PM on 10/07/2011

Why don't we have the same compassion for (obviously) disturbed individuals who molest children? In this case, her act (to hang herself in her room, presumably to let a little innocent kid stumble upon her hanging lifeless body) was an intentional attempt to hurt and permanently scar a kid. In the case of a molester, at least the intent isn't to scar in such a way (i.e. it's probably for selfish reasons).

What do you say for WHERE she chose to commit this act?

[Shaun Johnson]

10:33 PM on 10/09/2011

Hey, Dawg, lay off the molestation, Christ!

[pickle541]

05:25 PM on 10/10/2011

I don't get your need to compare. They have nothing to do with each other. If you want to get down to it, it's probably something really simple like their was opportunity there. Or something to hang from. It's not worth getting into and it's sadder than it is criminal. Teachers get criticism for EVERYTHING. If you want empathy, start there. Talk to teachers and find out what the are stressed about.

[skidivorgn]

02:33 PM on 10/07/2011

I live in Carterville, IL. where this happened. Although I did not know Ms. Walker or Ms. Byrnes, but I know many who did, and I have 2 grandsons who attend that school. When I read the comments last night, many of them angered me, but I didn't know enough facts to comment at that time. I spoke this morning to one of Ms. Walkers friends and also my daughter, and this is what I learned. Ms. Walker had taught her class Monday. After class, she escorted the children outside, returned to her classroom, locked the door and hung herself in her supply closet. Several teachers were meeting that afternoon at the school to go to the wake for Ms. Byrnes. Ms. Byrnes was 75 and had retired years before, but still taught occasionally. Ms. Byrnes was married, had several children and grandchildren. She was well known in town and very active in many organizations. She had taught for almost 40 years. The comments that have angered me most are the ones that make the assumption that they were lovers. They were not. Making comments like that shows nothing but stupidity and hatred.

[skidivorgn]

02:32 PM on 10/07/2011

When Ms. Walker didn't meet with the other teachers, one went to look for her. Her room was locked, but there are connecting doors between the classrooms, so the teacher went in that way and found Ms. Walker. She was not dead at that time. The teacher yelled for help, got Ms. Walker to the floor and started CPR. When an ambulance arrived, they took her to the hospital in Carbondale, about 6 miles away, where she died the next morning at 7:50. No children saw her in her room. She was a great teacher, and parents begged for their children to be in her class. She was an outstanding athlete in high school and college. She had been the high school volleyball coach. She was 45 years old and never married. I know, female athlete plus never married means, to many people, "Well, she must be a lesbian". I don't know if she was or not, and it doesn't matter. Her sexuality does not deserve a place in these comments. We will probably never know why she killed herself, or why she did it at the school. There was no suicide note found. From years of being a pharmacist, and from suffering depression myself, I know that depression is often hidden well from others, and it is only when you are alone that your depression rears its ugly head. Her friend did tell me that Ms. Walker was being treated for depression and had recently had her medication changed.

[MaryfromIL]

07:00 PM on 10/07/2011

we had a childhood friend who was on an anti-depressant, and threw herself from a bridge, leaving a spouse and two children. We know she wasn't in her right mind, because she was afraid of bridges.

I spent years when I could plummet in emotions in minutes. No one wants to die, they just want the pain to stop.

[miauctions]

10:25 PM on 10/07/2011

Being depressed is a sad issue. One that we all hope does not consume our every movement or action, But if you read the posts... regardless of what you've written... you have a depressed person take their life in a facility that houses children for education. If a person decides that their life is over... they should not EVER consider the remote possibility that a young person they have educated may find them in this condition!! That person "staged" their own death and their choice of environments to end their life is totally unacceptable to parents with their own genuine concerns that their child may view such a horrific scene. That's the main concern here. Not that she was not a good teacher. It was her poor choice of locations to end her life.

[skidivorgn]

11:41 PM on 10/07/2011

I certainly never meant to condone her actions or where she did it. Yes, she made a bad decision about where to do it. Yes, if she had to do it, she should have rationally done the deed at home, or in the forest, or anywhere else. But people who commit suicide are not rational. She did what she did where she did it for unknown reasons. I have never commented on any news story before. I had to create an account to do it, and will probably never do it again. The only reason I commented at all was to respond to the irrational comments that had been posted. People who knew nothing about it were making all kinds of assumptions, even claiming she and the other teacher were lovers. I was just trying to set the record straight as much as I could. I certainly don't condone her actions, nor do I understand them. I just mourn them, like everyone else in our community.

[skidivorgn]

02:28 PM on 10/07/2011

But even though suicide has been called the ultimate selfishness, and even though she did it at the school, at least she was selfless enough to do it at a time when she knew she would be found before any child could have seen her. And she was selfless enough to be an organ donor, so other lives will be saved. These two deaths have greatly affected our town and those who knew both ladies. They have family that loved and will miss them. I hope none of them have seen these comments. Most comments were great and supportive. But those that weren't were totally unnecessary. Please, think before you make public comments, especially if commenting on a tragedy. Think about how you would feel if these ladies had been a friend or family member. If your comment is hurtful, keep it to yourself. Thank you.

[Conuly]

10:04 PM on 10/07/2011

Hanged. People are hanged, coats are hung.

[captainindustry]

03:06 AM on 10/08/2011

Ok Hanged then.

But I did know a plastic surgeon who hung himself.

http://instantrimshot.com/

[Stwart Jenssen]

12:08 PM on 10/07/2011

By reading this article I realized I have been taken for a ride by the healthcare industry. I have tried all of the treatments that are said to be helpful in this article at great expense and still have back pain after five years. I have had MRI imaging, nerve studies and been poked and prodded, drugs creams You name it. "Everything's normal," they say.

Lindsay Lohan
Findyourdrug.com