Editor’s note: Erin Michelle West was a former Lewis County resident who taught previously at Fords Prairie Elementary School in Centralia. Her children attended Centralia Christian School, where she also volunteered. Look for a full story on her local connections in Saturday’s edition of The Chronicle and at chronline.com.   

Erin Michelle West, the teacher who died in the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School Monday in Madison, Wisconsin, was remembered Thursday by her pastor as "a godly, kind, compassionate woman. A really loving person."

West was "super generous, just authentic," said Rob Warren, founding pastor of Doxa Church on Madison's South Side. "She was the type of woman that wouldn't just feel something and talk about it, but she would move to action just because she loved God and loved people so well."

Warren said he's known Erin, who was 42, her husband, Jack, and the couple's three daughters since they joined the church about 2 1/2  years ago. West's daughters are in elementary, middle and high school at Abundant Life. The family lives in DeForest.

The Dane County medical examiner on Wednesday said West and student Rubi Patricia Vergara, who was 14, died at the scene. Five other students and one teacher were wounded. The shooter, 15-year-old student, Natalie Rupnow, turned the gun on herself and died at a local hospital.

West had been a substitute teacher in the school for three years before taking on a staff role as sub coordinator, a position "tailor made for her abundant skills and breadth of knowledge," Barbara Wiers, a school spokesperson, said in a statement.

"Erin was a true servant. Always willing to do whatever was needed," said Tom Flaherty, lead pastor at City Church, which shares a campus with Abundant Life.

Flaherty led a service of the school community Tuesday night that drew about 1,200 mourners.

"She loved God and truly believed in the mission of Abundant Life Christian School," Flaherty said about West on Thursday.

Warren said he drove to the school as soon as he heard something was happening there to see what was going on and to pray. A lot of families from the school are part of his church, and a lot of his friends have kids there, he said.

While waiting with parents at a reunification point in a nearby Dean clinic parking lot, he got a call that West had been killed. He said he knew he had to get to West's husband and their daughters right away.

He helped a police detective convey the news to Jack, who then told the girls. Later that night, Warren and two other friends sat with the family to talk and pray, he said.

"It's a terrible situation, but they're clinging onto the Gospel and handling it as well as they can," Warren said.

The Wests moved to the Madison area from Washington state about five years ago, he said, adding that Jack is a manager at a glass manufacturer. The Wests were leaders and volunteers in Doxa, the Greek word for glory. Their youngest daughter is good friends with Warren's daughter, he said.

"They were just family oriented," Warren said. "A lot of times it was just spending time with each other, spending time with friends. They were just kind of a chill, peaceful presence type of family."

Erin volunteered in Doxa's kids' ministry and Jack served on the church's safety team, Warren said. "They were one of those couples that were just always around and willing to do something."

According to West's obituary, she was born in St. Charles, Missouri, and graduated from Kennesaw State University in Georgia in 2005.

"Erin enjoyed family camping trips, attending school sporting events, serving at Doxa Church, and spending time with her daughters and the rest of her family," the obituary said.

A memorial service for West will be held at noon Monday at Doxa Church. The service will be live streamed on doxamadison.com.

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