Kim and Monica Lee are remembering their friend and former coworker Katherine Koonce as a wonderful human being who was sassy and full of grace.
Koonce was one of the six people killed at the Monday shooting in at the Covenant School in Nashville, where she worked, Monday.
Kim Lee, who is an airline pilot, said when he heard about the shooting, he texted Koonce right away, but she never texted back. He started to get worried and tried to get in contact with other people who worked at the school.
Soon, he got a text saying his friend was shot and later died at the hospital.
The Lees flew to Nashville when they heard about the shooting and the death of their friend because they just wanted to be back in the community. They now live in Atlanta.
“We love her and appreciate her so much, we just wanted to be here. We can’t bring her back, obviously,” Kim Lee said.
Kim Lee described Koonce as being witty and sassy with a “crazy sense of humor.” He said she made people feel like they were the most important person when she talked with them, everyone from her preschool students to board members and presents at the school.
“She had this amazing confidence but she was a person of grace,” he said. “She was an educator, but she also had great pastoral and counseling and nurturing skills or she had those CEO skills that could tell you that you need to kind of get in your place,” he added, with a laugh.
“They just lost hugely at this school,” Monica Lee added. “They’re going to have a hard time filling her shoes.”
