Montego Bay school mourns sudden death of physics teacher Sheldon Johnson

WESTERN BUREAU: The St James High School community in Montego Bay is grappling with grief after senior educator Sheldon Johnson died suddenly on Monday, collapsing not long after he walked out of a meeting on the campus.

Johnson was 46 years old and hailed from Gayle Town in Clarendon. He taught physics and computer technology and had worked at the institution since 2018. Principal Joseph Williams said the loss has hit the school hard, noting that Johnson served as its lead technician for computer repairs and kept the school's Internet connection running.

"That is the sad reality, and it is very tragic because Mr Johnson did not have any known illness ... . It had been approved for him to go on leave (vacation) as of September 1. He was the senior teacher in charge of technology, so he was very much technically savvy," said Williams.

According to reports, Johnson fell ill a short time after he attended a session at St James High involving a representative from the Ministry of Education's Region Four office. He and a colleague later stopped at a service station in Westgate, Montego Bay, where he collapsed. Emergency responders took him to Cornwall Regional Hospital, but doctors there declared him dead.

A staff member who asked not to be named described Johnson as someone who brought energy to the workplace and whose absence will be felt across the campus.

"Mr Johnson was a brilliant man, an excellent teacher, and he was full of life and fun and was very caring and easy-going," the teacher said. "The school is shaken, and his passing was too sudden since he was at school today. It is a shock, and everyone is in mourning."

On Monday, Dr Michelle Pinnock, regional director for the Ministry of Education's Region Four, issued a short statement conveying sorrow over Johnson's death and offering sympathy to everyone connected with St James High School.