Former junior high school math teacher Joseph Griffith was killed in the mass shooting in Midland and Odessa, Texas, on Sat., Aug. 31, 2019.

Once again the professional community is mourning the loss of a talented teacher. Former junior high school math teacher Joseph Griffith was among those killed in the mass shooting in Midland and Odessa, Texas, on Sat., Aug. 31, 2019.

Joseph was killed as he sat at a traffic light with his wife and two children, reports the teacher’s sister, Carla Byrne. She recalled that only a day before his death, one of his former students told the chalkboard champion what an “awesome teacher he was.” In his career as an educator, Joseph worked diligently to developed close bonds with his students, Carla asserted.

Kaitlyn King, one of Joseph’s former students, recalled being in his seventh-grade math class when she attended Goddard Junior High School in Midland more than a decade ago. Kaitlyn, who declares she is “not a math person,” had failed the state’s standardized test the previous year. Joseph’s patience, charisma, and dedication helped her improve her test scores. He really wanted his students to learn, she said. “He was a very funny teacher, (but) very serious at the same time,” Kaitlyn said. “He was good at explaining everything.”

Joseph’s sister described her brother as a man with a wonderful sense of humor, and that he possessed an unusual talent for impersonating anyone. But nothing, she said, was more important to him than his devotion to his wife and children. He worked six days a week to support them, she revealed.

Also killed in the random shootings was a high school student, 15-year-old Leilah Hernandez. She was shot as she and her older brother were leaving an automobile dealership with the keys to new truck he had just bought. The teacher and the student did not know each other. Five others were slain in the attack, while another 22 were wounded. Police killed the gunman.

To read more about Joseph, click on this link to the New York Post.