Updated: Monday, Feb. 6, 5:15 p.m.
(NEW INFORMATION: A public memorial for Shaun will be held Thursday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. at Brown Deer High School, located at 8060 N. 60th St. in Brown Deer, Wis., with visitation hours beginning at 5 p.m.
A private funeral for friends and family will be at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 10, at Our Lady of Good Hope Catholic Church, 7152 N. 41st St., Milwaukee, Wis.)
On the morning of Saturday, Feb. 4, the North Central College family experienced a tragic loss. Shaun Wild, Class of 2011, of Brown Deer, Wisconsin, and a teacher at Spring Brook Elementary School, Naperville School District 204, died as the victim of a violent incident in a downtown Naperville establishment. North Central senior Willie Hayes, of Lemont, Illinois, was seriously injured in the same incident and underwent emergency surgery at Edward Hospital before being released on Monday. Both Shaun and Willie have been important contributors to the Cardinal football program for the last four years and many of their teammates – and their family members – joined head coach John Thorne, other coaches and staff, Director of Student Development, Assistant Dean of Students and team chaplain Gary Ireland, and College President Harold Wilde for several hours … in their grief and in their prayers.
(North Central College released a statement on behalf of the family of Willie Hayes on Sunday, Feb. 5. Click
here to view the statement).
Shaun’s principal at Spring Brook was there along with the family; he, along with Shaun’s teammates, could not say enough about what a wonderful young man Shaun was. In the profile that appears on North Central’s website that character comes through: “I’m excited to be in this field at a time when many recognize the importance of a male influence in the classroom. When I was in grade school, I wasn’t the best student. But a couple of male teachers influenced me for good at a critical time, and I want to do the same for others.”
“Tragedies like this are, in some senses, beyond our comprehension as human beings,” Wilde noted in an e-mail to the campus community. “They run against what our minds and hearts tell us is the order of the universe. They are a moment to fall back on each other, our ties to the community and our faith in something larger than ourselves. Many students, coaches, faculty, staff and alumni have lost a dear friend. The healing, the binding up of the wounds, will take a long time, but it begins today.”
Counselors are available to the campus community in the Dyson Wellness Center. Campus ministry staff is available in Kiekhofer Hall. Members of the Residence Life staff are available in their residence halls as well.
Staff from the Dyson Wellness Center will be on hand throughout the week on the third floor of the Residence Hall/Recreation Center for open drop-ins at the following times: Monday, 11 a.m.-1 p.m.; Tuesday, 7 p.m.-8 p.m.; Wednesday, 3 p.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday, 4 p.m.-6 p.m.; and Friday, 9 a.m.-10 a.m.
The Naperville Police Department has apprehended an individual in connection with the incident and charges have been filed. More information will be released as it is made available.
