Kellogg students unite to honor fallen classmate

Sarah McFeeley wasn’t just another kid who went to Kellogg High School.

There wasn’t anything about Sarah McFeeley that was ‘just another thing’ at Kellogg High School.

Sarah was a smile and a high five, Sarah was a song sung together at the worst possible (and therefore the best) time, Sarah was the best.

Last week, students at KHS were shocked to hear about the loss of their classmate who tragically died in the early hours of Monday morning.

The news hit the student body, particularly the sophomore class (Sarah’s class) very hard, but instead of giving in to their grief, they did what Sarah would have wanted them to do.

They celebrated her.

On Tuesday night, the Kellogg girls varsity basketball team was set for their senior night festivities and what normally was supposed to be a night dedicated to senior players, became the opening day of a continuing party for Sarah.

Steve Shepperd, the longtime voice of the Wildcats read aloud a short, but poignant message written by one of Sarah’s classmates before a moment of silence.

The gym was full of people wearing purple, Sarah’s favorite color, and the basketball players put purple bows in their shoelaces, and drew her initials on their forearms as a tribute to one of their biggest fans.

“The students are realizing how much they miss her and much of a difference she made on this school,” KHS teacher Erin Stevenson said. “She had such a presence here, you knew when she was around and when she wasn’t.”

This message was echoed by several of Sarah’s friends and teachers, all of whom are struggling to grasp the idea that she is gone.

“She wanted to brighten your day,” classmate Rylee Riekena. “There were times when you didn’t want to be happy, but Sarah didn’t care. She wanted to make your day better in anyway that she could.”

Riekena then shared a memory that generally garners an ‘only Sarah’ response from anyone who hears it.

“There was a day when I had to pee really bad and as I went into the bathroom, Sarah was walking in as well,” Riekena said. “We sat down to do our business and from the next stall over she said, ’Rylee, let’s sing a song,’ and we proceeded to sing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’ while we went to the bathroom.”

Stories and moments like these are what will keep Sarah’s memory alive and well in the halls of KHS.

“The old saying is what? Tragedy unites us,” Teacher Paul Roberts said.

Roberts, the drama teacher at KHS had Sarah in his drama class, which just happened to be one Sarah’s favorites.

“She got involved wherever she could,” Roberts said. “There were times when we would be doing improv and Sarah would join in and interject in the way only Sarah could, but the other kids were great and they quickly learned to adapt to the new character that Sarah had just introduced.”

Her imagination was something that she prided herself on and she would use it when she felt mischievous.

“She always would ask, ‘Where’s your car?” classmate Brandon Church said. “She loved to ask questions like that, but there would be times when we would be working on something and she would decide that she didn’t want to do it anymore and she would start asking questions like that to get out of doing something. Or how she would ask everyday what was for lunch at the school, despite the fact that she never ate school lunches.”

Those were just some of the ways that Sarah made sure that she had something to say to everyone she saw throughout the day.

From watching the buses drive away from school in the morning, to making sure that students got handmade birthday cards, Sarah had very specific things that brought her joy at Kellogg High School.

Sarah’s father and aunt both expressed their gratitude at the way the students and community have rallied around each other in memory of Sarah and her family.

“Sarah gave out so much love, but the students gave it right back when it was needed,” Janny McFeeley said. “They learned how to accept someone who was a little different from them and I think they will grow and learn from this.”

Sarah’s dad, Jim McFeeley, was proud of his daughter and the impact she had on those around her, but as any father going through a situation like this, he is struggling with the loss of his daughter.

“I miss her more than anything in the world,” Jim said. “She was so fun and so kind. She gave everybody a fair chance and she loved everyone.

The special relationship that the teachers and students had with Sarah was one that could only be described eloquently, but Roberts has found a beautiful, but simple way of expressing it.

“In books we don’t always see the same reality as some of the characters,” Roberts said. “Sarah had her own reality that we could never fully comprehend, but it was beautiful and I am thankful to have been able to be a part of it.”

The leadership class at KHS has planned a community balloon release at the high school at 10 a.m. on Friday.