JEFFERSON, Ga. — Funeral services for a teenage boy remembered for his engaging smile and a math teacher known for her dedication to students were scheduled for Saturday, 10 days after both were killed by a gunman who opened fire on a High school in Georgia.
Family, friends and supporters of 14-year-old Mason Schermerhorn and teacher Christina Irimie, 53, gathered to say goodbye during separate afternoon services.
They belonged to four people killed September 4 at Apalachee High School by a gunman wielding an assault-style rifle. Another teacher and eight other students were wounded.
A large public outpouring was expected at Schermerhorn’s memorial service, to be held at a civic center in Jefferson. A neighbor, Tommy Pickett, recalled watching him grow over the past decade from a curious young boy to a teenager who always seemed to be smiling and laughing.
Irimie immigrated to the U.S. from her native Romania over 20 years ago. She was known for teaching dance to children in addition to algebra and remained active in the Romanian expat community of metro Atlanta.
The service for Irimie, with readings and remembrances in English and Romanian, will be held at a funeral home in Buford. A memorial meal is planned afterward at Saints Constantine and Helen Romanian Orthodox Church.
The funerals will provide another opportunity for students and teachers at the high school of 1,900 to share their grief. Barrow County’s other schools reopened last week. But no date has been set for students to return to Apalachee High School.
A private funeral was held this past weekend for Richard Aspinwall, a 39-year-old math teacher and defensive coordinator for the school’s football team. Aspinwall was killed in the attack, along with Schermerhorn, Irimie and 14-year-old student Christian Angulo.
Angulo’s family has planned his funeral service at a church for Friday.
The authorities have a 14-year-old student chargedColt Gray, with murder in the high school murders. His father is also charged with second degree murder for providing his son with a weapon used to kill children.
Authorities say the teen surrendered to school resource officers who confronted him about three minutes after the first shots were fired. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says the teen rode the bus to school with the semi-automatic rifle hidden in his backpack.