“At first, it was disbelief.”: West Jessamine principal speaks about the loss of Abby Dobie
NICHOLASVILLE, KY (WTVQ) — Tragedy struck on Tuesday when West Jessamine High School teacher Abby Dobie died in a car accident.
West Jessamine’s principal Brady Thornton spoke with ABC 36 about his friend and colleague.
He even recounts those first moments after receiving the news of her passing.
“At first, it was disbelief,” said Thornton. “It was hoping that maybe we had the wrong news, or maybe there weren’t all the facts, and something else was the truth. But as it started to sink in, and our staff who were here were finding out, it was just a situation where we were in shock. We wanted to reach out to as many people as directly as we could, as quickly as we could, before the news spread in other ways.”
Thornton and other staff members were at the school when they got the call.
He describes Dobie as a light and amazing person.
“She was the type of teacher that so many other teachers wanted to emulate because she had high standards for kids and she held them to that, but she also was compassionate and loved kids and supported them along the way. While also being a great friend and colleague.”
He even says she was the type of person who always had a smile on her face and was always there for others.
Thornton says he is trying his best to be a lead for his staff, during this difficult time
“It has not been without grieving as well, because she was a friend and she and I had texted and spoken as recently as last week. So, that’s hard, but it also leads me to want to pour into what we’re doing here so we can work through that together.”
Thornton says that even though this is a tragedy, they want to bring a positive light to Dobie’s story.
“We want people to know that. That’s Abby Dobie, and she’s worth every good thing that people are saying about her.”
He reminds former students of Dobie that they are, and always will be, Colts and he hopes they are grieving in a healthy manner and speaking with someone if they need to.
