MADISON, Wis. — Family and friends said their final goodbyes Monday to a substitute teacher who died in a shooting at a private religious school in Wisconsin last week, describing her as a devout Christian with Southern roots who took copious notes in her personal Bible and planned to take her children to Disney World next year.
Erin Michelle West, 42, was killed on December 16 when 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow opened fire with a handgun at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison. A 14-year-old student, Rubi Vergara, was also killed and six others were injured before Rupnow turned the gun on himself. Rupnow was a first semester student at the school. Researchers are still there tries to figure out her motive.
Dozens of people attended West’s afternoon funeral at Doxa Church in Fitchburg, a suburb of Madison. West’s casket was set up in front of a stage decorated with Christmas trees decorated with gold lights. During the hour-long service, a giant photo of her was displayed on a screen above the stage.
Rob Warren, the church’s pastor, fought back tears as he welcomed people.
“In a sense, no one wants to be here,” he said. “But in another sense, I believe we all need to be here now, to hurt and heal together. As painful as it is, I believe we all really need this moment.”
According to West’s obituary, she was born in St. Charles, Missouri, and graduated from Kennesaw State University in 2005. She married her husband, Jack, in 2005 in Powder Springs, Georgia. The couple have three daughters.
Warren read several verses from West’s personal Bible, commenting on any handwritten notes and underlined portions. He said that after Jack West gave him the Bible, the phrase “the Gospel is for everyone” was written in blue ink on the first page he opened.
“This is what Erin West was all about,” the pastor said, later adding, “Erin is in heaven now with Jesus and she is more alive than ever before and that is the truth.”
Nate Kaloupek, director of leadership development and equipment for Doxa Church, gave a short elegy, describing how Erin met Jack in an online Christian chat room and how Jack’s company, Cardinal Glass, moved the couple across the country, first to Oklahoma and the Pacific Northwest before settling in Wisconsin about six years ago.
Sometimes struggling to find his voice, Kaloupek said Erin loved the fast-food restaurant chain Chick-fil-A and often showed her Georgia roots by saying “love y’all” or “hey, y’all.”
He joked that Erin was “really bad” at hiding her emotions and that God had called her to work at ALCS. She led prayers for people in their church group and kept track of which prayers were answered, he said.
She enjoyed camping trips with her family, wine tastings with her husband and was looking forward to taking their daughters to Disney World this spring, he added, before closing the elegy with, “She would want me to ‘love y ‘ say. all.’ Thank you.”