AFFTON 鈥 Hundreds of people poured into a suburban funeral home Sunday to pay respects to Jean Kuczka, the 61-year-old teacher killed while confronting a gunman and protecting her students in last week鈥檚 school shooting at St. Louis鈥 Central Visual and Performing Arts High School.
Under gray and drizzly skies, cars filled the Kutis Funeral Home parking lot and spilled along the sides of Gravois Road in south St. Louis County during the afternoon visitation for Kuczka. There was a line of attendees stretching out of the building鈥檚 side entrance.
The crowd included Kuczka鈥檚 friends and relatives, as well as some of her students and their families 鈥 and nearly all of her former teammates from the 1979 Southwest Missouri State field hockey team that won a national championship.
Ashley Orourke, a friend of Kuczka鈥檚 daughter, said she will remember her for her 鈥渒ind soul.鈥
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鈥淪he was always very happy and caring,鈥 said Orourke.
Kuczka鈥檚 funeral will be held Monday at nearby Resurrection Cemetery 鈥 one week after she was one of two people killed in the Oct. 24 shooting, along with 15-year-old student Alexzandria Bell.
Virtually everyone asked for comment at Sunday鈥檚 visitation echoed glowing descriptions of Kuczka, who resided in Jefferson County, and the life she lived 鈥 painting a picture of someone beloved as a wonderful person, friend, teacher and leader.
Angel Rush, a CVPA sophomore who had multiple classes with Kuczka, said she was a 鈥渇un and energetic鈥 teacher.
Before coming to the funeral home, Rush and her family braved the rain to attend a Sunday protest at St. Louis City Hall to demand tighter gun laws.
Different people filing into the funeral home Sunday agreed that the school-shooting deaths of Kuczka, Bell and others underscore a need for stricter gun control in the U.S.
鈥淐hange the amendment,鈥 said Cheryl Casteel, an old friend of Kuczka鈥檚 who played bunco with her. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a waste of lives.鈥
Correction: Angel Rush was incorrectly identified in an earlier version of this story.