Milton teacher shared her passion for business with her students
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Jamie Bauerkemper
MILTON — Jamie Bauerkemper poured her heart and soul into teaching business and marketing to high school students.
"Teaching was everything to her," said Rian Uelmen, her sister.
That's what Uelmen wants people to remember about Bauerkemper after her unexpected death Tuesday night.
"She always put others first," Uelmen said. "She had a passion to make everybody else's life better. She's a very warm, kindhearted spirit."
Bauerkemper, 33, of Cottage Grove was a first-year teacher at Milton High School, but she had been a teacher for nine years before that, Uelmen said. She took the job in Milton to move closer to family.
Milton High School teachers informed the students of Bauerkemper's death late Wednesday morning, Superintendent Bernie Nikolay said. The school is making counseling available to anyone who needs it, he said.
"The Milton school community is deeply saddened by the loss of Jamie," a statement from the school district says. "Our thoughts and prayers are with her family."
The district used its phone alert system to notify high school parents of Bauerkemper's death after receiving several phone calls from families, Nikolay said.
"They hear something's happening, so we need to give them reassurance" that nothing happened at the school, he said.
Bauerkemper was at school Monday but not Tuesday, Nikolay said. The Rock County Sheriff's Office responded to a call Tuesday night to a trailer in Fulton Township, Capt. Todd Christiansen said. Bauerkemper's parents own the trailer, he said.
The death is consistent with a suicide, although the investigation is ongoing, Rock County Coroner Jenifer Keach said.
The Janesville Gazette does not typically report on suicides. Because of Bauerkemper's job and the school district's public response, however, the newspaper's editors decided that a story was warranted.
Bauerkemper's parents, Dave and Debbie Bauerkemper, also live in Cottage Grove, but the family originally is from Eau Claire, Uelmen said.
That's where Bauerkemper got her start in Distributive Education Clubs of America, a competitive program teaching students about business and marketing, Uelmen said. Bauerkemper was passionate about the program as a student and teacher, she said.
The family is planning to hold funeral services for Bauerkemper on Monday at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Eau Claire, with visitation Sunday, Uelmen said. Details have not been finalized, she said.
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