BALLWIN, Mo. — A few hundred broken hearts gathered at Parkway West High School softball field Wednesday night, where they wish they could see No. 23 Kendall Johnson play one more time.
"She was really gregarious, she had a bunch of friends she was really funny. She sounded really fun and a really good athlete as well," Counseling Coordinator Erin Schulte said.
Schulte is working with family and students after 15-year-old Johnson died Sunday afternoon in a boating accident on Table Rock Lake.
Schulte rolled out their response plan that night.
"The people that were more directly impacted, we started gathering resources from the outside, this is a very traumatic situation, so they're going to need something different and bigger than what a school district can offer," Schulte said.
She called in their school counselors to offer services at the welcome center. They're helping students process the tragedy and prepare for what's ahead.
"It becomes real when the first day of school happens and that person isn't there, or we have the first softball game and she's not there, or it's homecoming, etc.," Schulte said.
Wednesday night's vigil was a student lead effort that circulated online and many showed up to pay their respects.
"We've heard kids just relay really great memories of being with her. Especially the softball team had a lot to say about just fun times of being a teammate with her and she was such a good teammate to them and so I know they will all miss that very much," Schulte said.
They placed flowers and balloons on the first base, which was one of the positions Johnson played.
She would've been a sophomore at Parkway West High this Fall.
Her funeral is scheduled for Friday morning 10 a.m. at the Crossing Church in Chesterfield.