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Classmates Make Valentines To Say Goodbye To 1st-Grader Killed By Car

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By KEITH MORELLI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 13, 2008

TAMPA - Tatum Johnson, a 7-year-old Mort Elementary School first-grader who died after she was struck by a car over the weekend, loved Valentine's Day.

To keep her memory alive and to help her friends and family through the grieving process, her classmates made valentines for the little girl and will present them to Tatum's father at her funeral Thursday, Valentine's Day.

Dealing with the death of a friend can be difficult. For 6- and 7-year-olds, it can be overwhelming, Mort Principal Beny Peretz said.

Tatum was struck by a neighbor's car Friday while she played on a dirt road near her home in a mobile home park off East 148th Avenue, Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies said.

She died at University Community Hospital, deputies said.
Crisis teams intervened Monday and Tatum's classmates decided to reach out to her family in the form of Valentine's Day cards.

"We normally make valentines for each other," Peretz said. "Valentine's Day was her favorite holiday. She loved pink."

The artists were 16 classmates in teacher Amanda Freedman's first-grade class, along with some other students who knew Tatum.

"We will be presenting them to Tatum's dad at her funeral on Thursday," Peretz said. Tatum's father, Michael Johnson, "did share with us that Valentine's Day was her favorite time of year."

At a vigil over the weekend, Johnson said his daughter was a social butterfly who loved animals.

"She was a good kid, a very good kid," he told those attending.

"And I'm proud of her and I thank God that he gave me some time to spend with this little girl."

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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