Ridge Lawn Students Honor Teacher With Beautiful Butterfly Tribute

CHICAGO RIDGE, IL — If you were a child learning the English language, let alone navigating a strange, new school, Beth Webster was your best friend. She was the first to greet new teachers and staff, and show them around the building. She loved butterflies.

The dedicated language specialist at Ridge Lawn Elementary School died unexpectedly on April 15 following a brief illness, leaving her close-knit group of colleagues devastated, and students adrift. She was 47.

“Beth was a light, she had a presence and sincerity to her,” principal Fran Setaro said. “She truly cared for kids. She was willing to do whatever was needed. She truly enjoyed what she was doing and was the first to jump in and help out. She very much had a can-do attitude.”

Dave Webster, with daughters Ember and Autumn

Ridge Lawn draws students from Chicago Ridge and Oak Lawn. For many of the children who came to Webster, their first language is Arabic. Webster worked with all students from preschool through fifth grade, focusing on different strategies to help them become fluent in English and put them on the road to becoming good learners.

“Her bond with the students was amazing,” second-grade teacher Jill Kasmer said. “My first reaction to Beth was, ‘this teacher is amazing.’ She had a bond with them and a way with these kids and their families that was so welcoming and comforting. Everyone in the community loved her.”

Webster grew up in Oak Lawn, attending St. Linus School before graduating from Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School in Mount Greenwood. She started her teaching career in Evergreen Park, where she lived with her husband, Dave, and their daughters Ember, 16, and Autumn, 9.

She and Yadira Moreno, her close friend and fellow language specialist, were both hired to work at Ridge Lawn Elementary School exactly 20 years ago.

“Beth was loveable and had a loveable approach,” Moreno said. “Everyone can truthfully say she was a really kind person. She welcomed and included everyone. She could converse about anything.”

The teachers at Ridge Lawn in District 127.5 are more like family than co-workers. Webster had taken a leave of absence before she passed away in April. Her unexpected death left her colleagues in shock and disbelief. Each teacher has had to battle through their own personal grief, while staying positive for the students.

Students sing 'Butterfly' on W Day (Lorraine Swanson | Patch)

But the hardest part was telling the kids. The school sent an email to parents the night before, but it was unknown if parents told their children, or if students were getting the message for the first time from the Richards High School crisis team, who went from classroom to classroom to break the news. There was a wide range of reactions. Some students were devastated.

"It was very hard to tell them,” said Jennifer Taulbee, an instructional math coach. “My students were younger and didn’t have Beth as much as their older siblings.”

Moreno stayed home for a week, too upset to go back to work.

“When I went back and would make eye contact with the students, their eyes would tear up,” Moreno said. “They felt the sadness from the teachers. There is sadness in the building. I still see students wearing butterfly shirts and writing letters and drawing pictures for her.”

Ridge Lawn officially declared Tuesday “W Day” for their beloved Mrs. Webster. Walking through the halls on the way to the gym, students had decorated a wall with Webster’s spirit animal – the butterfly – a symbol of transformation, hope and faith. A butterfly poster with all the students’ fingerprints hung on the memorial wall.

Music teacher Cheri Brodsky taught the entire school to sing Lizzie Snider’s “Butterfly,” while a photo montage showing Webster with family, colleagues and students was beamed on the gymnasium wall. Afterward, students went outside, where they fanned out across the Chicago Ridge Prairie for a butterfly release.

Setaro carried out a white box tied with purple ribbon newly arrived that morning from Florida containing 115 painted lady butterflies. Gently, the principal helped Webster’s daughters, Ember and Autumn, open the box. The youngest students squealed with joy when the first butterflies fluttered into the air. Others were waking up. And some didn’t want to leave at all, perched on fingers and shoulders, spreading their wings.

“The tribute was so perfect,” Taulbee said. “Every part of it screamed Beth.”