In the Suburbs: The irony of personal loss mixed with a school tragedy Sign In Steven Gaynes FacebookTwitterEmail Eight years have passed and the day is as vivid as it was when so much changed. My mother died at 8:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 14, 2012 in Chicago. I was subbing that day at Fairfield Warde High School, as was my older daughter Stacey, and we received a lot of support from colleagues, which made processing mom’s death less painful. But how ironic was it to learn barely two hours later that 20 beautiful children and six educators had been murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, less than 30 minutes away? Adding this tragic event to a day already filled with personal sadness, I will never forget the void I have felt for the past eight years.