St. Alphonsus holds memorial for beloved music teacher

Kathy Mangin died earlier this month in a car accident in Jackson County. St. Alphonsus students in Ocean Springs created a memorial to remember her by.

Students at St. Alphonsus Catholic School sang with Ms. Kathy to once again show how much she is loved and missed. Students and staff have been dealing with the grief of losing a beloved music teacher. Assistant Principal Lauren Ross said, “We felt like it was important to remember Ms. Kathy school-wide. She was such an integral part of our school. And our students really need this time to really talk about her, remember her, see pictures, sing songs – to try and bring closure to us because this was such an unexpected tragedy.”

As a group, students were able to see photos and videos of Ms. Kathy, a woman who cared for each one of the young students. They could sing along with her and pray with her.

The students at St. Alphonsus were able to add their own touch to Ms. Kathy’s memorial. It will be hung on the wall in the school as a reminder that she’s always with them. The memorial includes a painting of St. Cecilia. It will be surrounded by artwork and letters from students at St. Alphonsus.

Fourth grader Gwen Persing had a connection with Ms. Kathy through their love of music. She knows Ms. Kathy would love this art. “You can always, like, honor someone, even if they’ve passed away.  You can always like honor them. And I think she’s looking down on us from heaven right now being like ‘They’re so great like I miss them so much.’ And I think she’s very proud of what we’ve done and I’m very proud of her.”