This is not a story. The idea that it might be takes away from the truth that Katherine Caudill and her family have experienced unimaginable loss. That loss motivated a phone call that blossomed into something very special. And, while it is not a simple story, we know that many will be touched while reading the words we’ve chosen to describe that phone call and the events that took place on Monday, September 12, 2022.
It was earlier in the summer of 2022 that Ms. Caudill reached out to the school district with an offer to assist kindergarten families in the district in need of school supplies. That is not an uncommon occurrence. However, it was in learning her “why” that district leaders suggested a different path. Ms. Caudill’s offer was sparked out of loss and love. Her “why” was that Wayne Alan Cole III, her three-year-old son unexpectedly succumbed to illness and was taken away from his loving family. His passing stole their joy of watching him enter Crissey Elementary School this fall, accompanied by his older brother, as a new kindergarten student. While grief may have been the genesis for that first phone call, joy somehow wove its way into the conversation. Rather than perishable school supplies, it was suggested that books be gifted to the schools.
As with most good ideas, when combined with Ms. Caudill’s energy and motivation that Wayne’s spirit somehow twinkle in each of the district’s kindergarten classrooms, the drive to collect books for each teacher’s classroom library was born. The expertise of director of teaching and learning, Taryn Miley, was tapped and ageappropriate books were identified and added to Amazon Wish Lists. Area media were engaged to invite others to donate. In all, hundreds of books were shared and to Ms. Caudill’s joy there were many that included one of Wayne’s favorite topics–dinosaurs. With the gentle touch of his mother, a tag was added to each book to remind readers that it was donated in Wayne’s memory. Something that Ms. Caudill was quick to explain was meant to bring joy, not sadness.
On Monday, September 12, Ms. Caudill delivered the books to kindergarten teachers at Crissey, Dorr and Holloway schools. When Ms. Caudill delivered the baskets she assembled for each of the teachers, there was laughter, joy and to be sure, even a few tears were shed. Mark Twain reminded us that, “Grief can take care of itself, but to get the full value of joy you must have somebody to divide it with.” Ms. Caudill and her family have chosen to share the joy of Wayne’s short life with all of us. They even have great plans to remain involved with the Class of 2036, as its members inch closer and closer each year towards their high school graduation.
A joyful Ms. Caudill is already planning and organizing book drives for next fall and all that will follow until she hopes, a scholarship opportunity is awarded in Wayne’s name to a graduating Springfield High School senior.
It started with a phone call. We are glad that it did not end there–and look forward to the many beginnings that we now share thanks to Wayne Alan Cole III and his family.
