Kings mourns high school teacher who died of COVID

WARREN COUNTY, Ohio (WKRC) - Kings High School is mourning the loss of a long-time Spanish teacher. Jorge Gonzalez passed away from COVID at 56.

Gonzalez spent 32 of his 34 years in education in the Kings district.

“Jorge is just he was a fantastic person, he was a mentor to a lot of us,” said Valerie Eldridge, Kings High School Spanish teacher.

“It's hard to imagine Kings without him, he was Kings,” Lindsay Six, Kings High School Spanish teacher said. “It's like a ship that just lost its captain.”

Gonzalez did so much more than teach Spanish. He was the Spanish Club advisor, a department chair, and a buddy teacher to new teachers. He was the Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator for the district in recent years.

He coached the junior high football team for years and ran the scoreboard for men's and women's basketball.

“Jorge was every good thing that Kings is and his loss will be irreplaceable,” Carrie Snyder, Kings High School English teacher said. “We can't say enough how many things Jorge’s fingers touched. He was on committees, he did union work, he ran the buzzer for basketball games, he did a ping pong club, he stood up for kids who needed a voice.”

A couple weeks ago, Gonzalez was hospitalized for COVID-19. He died Monday.

“Speaking with his wife, he was fully vaccinated, he wore his masks, he was basically did everything right,” Dawn Gould, the school district's community relations coordinator said. “And as far as we know, he has no underlying health issues.”

Colleagues learned of the news earlier this week.

“It's just been a really, really devastatingly hard week. We just miss him, we just miss him,” Snyder said. “The news was devastating because again of all the things Jorge does, of all the things Jorge was, and how we love and felt about him.”

“One of the hardest things this week has been my drive to school, knowing that I have to walk down the hallway and him not being here,” Eldridge said.

Gonzalez was married to Karin Gonzalez, who teaches at JF Burns Elementary School. they have a daughter who is a junior at Kings High School. The couple even met teaching together at Kings.

A teacher with a larger-than-life personality will be missed by decades worth of students and alumni.

His Kings community will make sure his legacy will never be forgotten.

“I think to honor Jorge’s memory would be to continue his advocacy, to continue his work in activism, and to be loud and to stand up for the things you believe in, and to advocate for the kids who need it the most because that's what Jorge was about,” Snyder said.

“He really had an impact on everything that we do, and I think in order for us to honor him we just have to make sure that the students who didn't get to meet him still know him and know his name,” Eldridge said.

A scholarship fund in Jorge Gonzalez’s name has been created to support Kings students.

It’s called the Jorge Gonzalez memorial fund.

Donations can be made at any Fifth Third Bank location.

A GoFundMe has been set up for the family.

His visitation will be Monday, October 25, 2021, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Mueller Funeral Home, 6791 Tylersville Road in Mason. Masks will be required to visit with the family.

A second visitation will be Tuesday, October 26, 2021, from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at St. John the Evangelist Church, 9080 Cincinnati Dayton Road in West Chester. Mass of Christian Burial will immediately follow at 11:00 AM.