Batavia teacher mourned

A 39-year-old Batavia teacher was remembered Saturday by friends and family members for the joy she brought to others as a wife, mother, educator and colleague.

Several hundred mourners attended the funeral of Laura L. Walters at River Glen Presbyterian Church in Naperville.

Walters died Tuesday at Hoover-Wood Elementary School in Batavia while she was preparing for the start of classes. The foreign language teacher died from a pulmonary embolism from blood clots, possibly related to a foot injury.

Her husband of nearly five years, Thomas Walters, sat in the front pew with their 3-year-old son, Casey, who was clutching a teddy bear. The couple had lived in Sugar Grove.

"She was a colleague, a mother, a wife and a daughter in deep and meaningful ways," said the Rev. David Boumgarden.

He described Walters as a "strong, very capable person but also vulnerable."

"She died so suddenly and so tragically that everyone's world has been turned upside-down," Boumgarden said. "But we must continue to risk to love."

"Laura was there when Hoover-Wood School opened," recalled Nan Phillips, learning center director at the school. "She took good care of it. She had a soft voice and a warm smile, and she created wonderful memories for the children. I'm so glad she was my friend."

Walters' sister-in-law, Suzanne Mitchinson of Elburn, recalled how close the two had become.

"We were pregnant together," Mitchinson said. "We were so close. She was an attentive mother and she gave Casey enough love to last a lifetime."