Perennial Eastside Elementary School teacher Cheryl Turk Barrus passed away just one day before the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year.
Barrus died Sunday, August 30, of unknown cause at 58 years old. She leaves behind her husband Rick, two children, and three grandchildren.
Barrus was a life-long Park County resident, graduating from Powell Senior High School and Northwest College, before getting a teaching degree at Montana State University.
She began teaching at Eastside Elementary in 1985. This would have been her 35th year as a teacher in Park County School District #6.
The school district was thrown into sorrow with this unexpected news. Superintendent Peg Monteith assembled the school’s crisis team Sunday afternoon once they heard the news to prepare Eastside and Barrus’s class for the sudden loss.
The school will not be searching for a new teacher to permanently fill the position anytime soon. A qualified substitute was enlisted to teach Barrus’s class and will be the long-term teacher for the entirety of this school year. This gives the students a sense of consistency during the already tumultuous time of the pandemic.
Monteith is relieved a substitute for the whole year could be found, but the entire district feels the loss of Barrus.
Services for Cheryl Turk Barrus will be held at Ballard Funeral Home on Saturday September 5, 2020 at 10:00 a.m.
