A DYING LIGHT

The tragic passing of two custodian—and their impact

Ms.Pat posing after her interview. She’s just gotten off work. “ Ha, sorry it’s the afternoon glow.”
It was a regular school morning, the smell of Clorox and cleaning supplies filled her nose as she
shakily sweep the halls; left, right, left, right, it was a regular school morning, until it wasn’t.
Ninth grade custodians Wilson and Maria passed on _____ on their way back from Oklahoma, a
couple— a couple who’d just gotten their citizenship, a couple with a family. Ever since their
passing Ms. Pat had been the only custodian cleaning the ninth grade campus, with the
occasional part-timer. The halls once filled with jokes and greetings are now hollow from the
bright faces that were Wilson and Maria.
“At first we didn’t know,” custodian Ms.Pat said. “We went to their house and then we found out
about that, and I still didn’t believe it.”
The couple had worked with Ms.Pat for nine years before their passing, always stopping to
greet the passing teachers and put a smile on anyone's faces.
“Wilson, one of the people who passed away, he was always a bright spot in the staff’s lives,”
English teacher Ms.Rupert said. “ He was always quick to say hi and stop to tell you a joke.”
For the AVID program community project they’d decided that instead of going outward, they’d
stay within the Hebron community; they’d decided to paint inspiration pictures and quotes on
rocks as a way to honor their memory.
“ I know that before we had our little service and everything got going she (Ms. Pat) came by
and she talked to the AVID students about how much this meant to her, and how much it
would’ve meant to Maria and Wilson,” Ms.Rupert said. “ And I know she did take one of the
painted rocks to give to the family.”
With Ms.Pat being the only primary custodian, teachers and students have taken it upon
themselves to help in any way they can; from encouraging kids to pick up trash before leaving
the class to looking around the hallways for any litter.
“It made me realize that we should probably help out the one janitor we have left,” Freshman
Zara Wegman said. “Because it’s also our school and we should be able to clean up after
ourselves.”
The student body of Hebron is filled with kids who would volunteer in a heartbeat for after
school, with that being said there’s some that had made a out of the passing of our custodian—-
primary boys.
“ There’s always some that helps,” Ms.Pat said. “ And then there are some that do the opposite,
but the vast majority are good kids helping.”
The halls will always be remembered as a place where laughter and friendships were made,
and it will always be something that belongs to the couple.
“ We miss you, “ Ms.Pat said. “Come back, come back.”