Roosevelt Junior High staff, students will grieve death of school secretary

The shooting deaths of four members of the Mingham family came as a shock to friends and co-workers Friday. The tragedy will also be felt by the roughly 750 students of Roosevelt Junior High, where Janet Mingham greeted them daily as school secretary.

Modesto police believe Stephen Mingham, 57, fatally shot his wife, Janet, 56, and two of their children, Chad Mingham, 33, and Nicole Mingham, 34, before turning the gun on himself Thursday night.

State records show Stephen Mingham was a Modesto City Schools vocational teacher, specializing in woodworking and construction, until 2011, when he began receiving disability payments.

Janet Mingham had been at Roosevelt for more than 16 years, following a stint as the principal’s secretary at Johansen High, co-worker Aaron Castro said Friday.

“Jan was one of the kindest, most patient, hardworking, and loving individuals I have had the pleasure to know,” said Roosevelt Principal David Sanchez via email. “She was a confidante to many, an encourager to all, and she provided sound wisdom and advice whenever needed.

“She has been a beloved part of the Roosevelt family for many years and will be deeply missed.”

As well as the loss of a familiar face, the school will have to cope with the way she died. Shooting murder-suicides are uncommon. In the 17 states that track them (California does not), there were 194 lives lost in such incidents in 2011, according to the National Violent Death Reporting System.

Lone suicides are far more common, accounting for 39,000 deaths nationwide each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. It is the 10th leading cause of death for Americans overall. Suicides by firearm accounted for 20,666 of those in 2012, nearly two-thirds of all gun deaths for that year.

Grief counselors will be available for Roosevelt staff and students when school opens after winter break Jan. 12, Superintendent Pam Able said. She said she and the school staff learned of the death Friday morning from Sanchez.

The Modesto school community as a whole will be affected by the tragedy, said Center for Human Services spokeswoman Kate Trompetter. The center has a student assistance specialist at Roosevelt and other schools throughout the county.

“(They) can assist with the crisis intervention and helping kids and families process a loss like this. And, of course, our mental health staff at our clinics are available to the community,” Trompetter said Friday.

Asked what parents could do immediately, David Collins, the center’s youth services program manager, had this advice: “The best thing parents can do is give their kids an opportunity to talk about what happened.”

Collins said kids often need time to process the information and may not be able to talk about it right away. “With this in mind, parents should also give their children an open invitation to talk about it later on. Kids will have all the same emotions adults have, such as confusion, anger and sadness,” Collins said in an email.

“The most common question from kids will probably be, ‘Why?’ Parents should feel OK with the answer, ‘I don’t know,’ but take the time to remind their children that they’re safe and loved,” he said. It can also be an opportunity to reach out with support and compassion for others, as a family, he added.

“As for me, I’m going to go hug my kids,” Collins said.

This story was originally published January 2, 2015 at 4:45 PM with the headline "Roosevelt Junior High staff, students will grieve death of school secretary."