HUNDREDS of Kings Meadows High School students and teachers will celebrate the life of a teacher they have said helped change lives at a special memorial service at the school tomorrow.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Aaron "Kingy'' King died on Australia Day of a suspected heart attack, leaving his wife Lisa and three sons Jalen, 12, Harri, 7, and Kobe, 3.
Mr King was a popular teacher at Kings Meadows and in the weeks since his death his family has been told many stories of how he changed the lives of students, kept them in school or offered support when it was needed.
"It's amazing the things that I am hearing,'' Mrs King said.
"He teaches kids about life and that has had the biggest impact I think.''
Mrs King said a career in teaching had not always been Mr King's plan. In fact when she suggested it he replied: "But I hate kids.''
But Mrs King said her husband always had a desire to help people and had initially undertaken a social work degree, changing to IT when he discovered he really wasn't enjoying the course.
After completing his degree, he still wanted to pursue a career where he could help people and decided on teaching high school students and went on to complete a teaching degree.
Mr King did his prac at Kings Meadows High and made such an impression that he was offered full-time employment as an IT teacher.
Mrs King said that she had been overwhelmed by the support that past and present students had shown.
She said students had shown up at her house with toys for her boys and she had seen others at Mr King's grave passing on their respects and even apologising at the graveside for giving him a hard time in the classroom.
"There's been so many stories of 'Kingy saved my life' or 'I would not have gone on to further education' or 'I wouldn't have stuck at school if it wasn't for Kingy','' Mrs King said.
"I think Aaron really showed the kids love, no matter who they were,'' she said.
It has been a tough four months for the King family after 10-year-old Noah died from a rare brain disease in October.
"`You just feel like you have to put your own stuff on hold just to get through the day,'' Mrs King said.
Mrs King has recorded the memories of her family for five years through her blog and said the responses that she had from strangers really helped her feel less isolated.
"It's nice to know there are so many people supporting us. You feel like you are alone in this grief but all the messages and emails help to know that you are not alone,'' she said.
"I keep feeling like I am watching this sad movie or reading a sad book and then it just hits me, this is my life, and I am really trying to see the positives.''