Manatee County Teacher Dies Of COVID-19: Report

BRADENTON, FL — A 58-year-old Bayshore High School teacher is the latest Florida educator to die from COVID-19.

Larry Conlon, who was unvaccinated, contracted the virus and got sick as the school year started, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reported. He died Friday morning.

A 51-year-old Sarasota County teacher and a 41-year-old Polk County educator both also recently died from coronavirus.

Conlon met his new students Aug. 10, the first day of the 2021-22 school year, but was out sick on quarantine starting the next day. He never returned to school, reports said.

Prior to his time at Bayshore High School, he was a reading teacher at Manatee School for the Arts, according to his LinkedIn profile. According to reports, he also taught at Johnson K-8 School of International Studies.

His wife, Karen, was also a teacher in the district and taught at Manatee School for the Arts.

Before becoming a teacher, he worked in finance, reports said. He turned to teaching and found a passion for working with students on reading remediation.

"He just had a passion for it," Karen told the Herald-Tribune. "A lot of former students' comments are that he was the teacher that helped them the most."

Many friends, family, coworkers and students expressed their condolences in comments on his wife’s Facebook page.

“I feel blessed to have worked with him some towards the end of last year, a wonderful educator who went above and beyond. His loss will be felt everywhere,” one former coworker wrote.

A former student commented, “I'm so sorry to hear what happened, you two were one of the best teachers I had at (Manatee School for the Arts.) Definitely got me through school for sure. All I wanna say (is) he was one of the nicest and most patient person I have ever met and surely will be missed.”

Read more about Conlon’s death at the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.