Jack Elementary alumni honor student who passed away during first ever senior walk

Published 7:41 pm Tuesday, May 18, 2021

Members of the second graduating class of Jack Elementary class returned to the halls of the school they once attended Tuesday with cheers and applause from current students while wearing their college T-shirts under graduation gowns.

Classes took a break from learning and gathered outside their classrooms to watch the seniors do a campus walk-through since COVID-19 postponed the first graduating class from participating last year. Seniors showcased their college shirts and also honored a senior who passed away earlier this month.

During the celebration, those who graduated with the late senior shed tears.

Tyler Legacy High School senior John Turman led the halls of Jack Elementary as he held a poster of his best friend and former Tyler High student and Jack Elementary classmate Patrianna Pettigrew, who died in a car crash earlier this month.

“I just felt like she should’ve been here,” Turman said. “It was a tragedy that we lost her on this lovely day before graduation and prom. She was going to look beautiful for both and I just felt like it was a big honor to be walking the hallway with her on the poster and the memory.”

Jack Elementary School is a Leader in Me campus that integrates the best practices from “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” and strategies to develop focus, take action, be accountable, and achieve goals.

“We love to celebrate the success of our Patriots and see how much they have grown and honor their time here, but it benefits our current Patriots as well,” Jack Elementary School Principal Brett Shelby said. “Continuing our leadership mission with a focus on the ‘7 Habits of Highly Successful Kids,’ this is focusing on Habit 2, Begin with the End in Mind. It shows the success of former Patriots and their accomplishment of graduating high school.”

Shelby also stated the importance of being a small-town student and being inspired by the older generation.

“I remember growing up and idolizing kids that were older,” Shelby said. “I was from a very small town and even having those older kids on campus providing some type of role model for them as a mentor, leadership aspect where they can see those kids doing something that they can look at in the future and say ‘I can do that someday.’”

When the walk was over, the seniors rounded up in a prayer circle for Pettigrew who was signed up to attend the alumni walk for Jack Elementary before she died.

Former Jack Elementary Principal Shauna Hittle led the prayer as she was the principal during the term of the alumni students.

“We’re missing her today and our hearts are heavy that she couldn’t be here with us,” Hittle said in prayer. “We have so many fond memories of Patrianna walking these halls, from career day to science fairs to field days. All of these students remember Patrianna in that way. All of her teachers, parents, we all remember her at this time. So Lord, I ask that you lay a gentle hand on each one of our hearts and please lay a hand on her parents’ hearts because we know this graduation season is going to be hard for them.”