TINLEY PARK – A longtime elementary school teacher in Romeoville died by suicide on I-80 early Sunday morning, and his daughter wants those who are currently in darkness to know that there are options available.
Tim Fogt, 50, had a significant impact during his nearly 25-year tenure at Kenneth Hermansen Elementary in Romeoville.
During the summer, he, like many other teachers across the country, worked concerts at Tinley Park’s Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre to supplement his income.
Fogt committed suicide on I-80 shortly after midnight Sunday, after leaving the amphitheater during a mental health crisis.
His daughter, Lauryn, knew something was wrong when she answered the phone last Thursday.
“He called me in the middle of the night and did not sound like himself,” Lauryn Fogt told WGN News. “I answered and he told me he was going to kill himself.”
His 24-year-old daughter immediately started talking him down.
“He was always a happy person — I did not know he was struggling,” recalled Fogt. “He promised me he would not hurt himself and apologized for putting me through that fear.”
The next day, he spent time playing Connect Four with his four-year-old daughter Everleigh, and everything seemed normal.
Lauryn awoke to a call from her father near the end of Pierce The Veil’s concert on Saturday night. She could hear vehicles in the background.
He told Lauryn she needed to go to Everleigh’s mother’s house so she could be with them when they received the news.
“I was sleeping and I said ‘dad where are you going?'” Lauryn said. “He said he walked out before the end of the concert and told me ‘I do not know a way out of this — I have to end it.'”
He called once more before abruptly hanging up and tragically running in front of a semi-truck on Interstate 80.
Lauryn and her boyfriend stayed up all night hoping he would make it home safely, but she knew there would not be a good outcome.
“As soon he hung up I said ‘I have a feeling he is going to get hit by a car,'” Lauryn exclaimed. “We got the call at 11:30 the next morning.”
Lauryn has been devastated in recent days, but she remembers her role model as someone who has brightened the lives of so many children at Hermansen and in the Romeoville community.
“I would help him sometimes and it was incredible,” Lauryn recalled. “I remember going to school with him, and his face would light up. Kids from different classes approached him. “He simply made friends wherever he went.”
Pam Swearingen, a Romeoville parent and long-time friend, echoed this sentiment, saying the community is devastated. Out of all the positive things she could say, she was most grateful for Fogt’s influence on her daughter.
“He changed my daughter. “My daughter was a clingy, unconfident, quiet child at the start of the year,” Swearingen said. “By the end of the year, she had developed a really funny sense of humor. It was insane, and it came from him.”
Her adult children, daughter and son, are devastated.
Fogt was well-known not only for his teaching abilities and sense of humor, but also for his ability to raise funds for the school.
“Projects for the school, grants — he got so many different grants for the school,” said Swearingen. “These kids adored him. They would stand there waiting for their schedules, hoping to see Mr. Fogt.”
Lauryn posted a lovely tribute to her father on social media. She felt it was important to end the note with a message for those who are currently struggling with mental health issues.
“To everyone reading this, please do not ever feel like you have to face your battles alone. She wrote, “Help is always available.”
This is Lauryn’s second devastating loss due to suicide.
“I got married when I was 18 and lost him when I was 19,” she said. “My father always told me, ‘Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.'” It will get better, no matter how bad things seem.
Even in the worst of times, there will always be someone to help you, and you do not have to suffer in silence. I wish he had taken his own advice.
She had a message for the semi-truck driver.
“I hope the driver does not feel any guilt for this,” she told me.
According to the CDC, men account for nearly 80% of all suicides. For years, organizations across the country have worked to eliminate the stigma associated with men seeking mental health treatment, but it persists.
Swearingen set up a GoFundMe page to help Lauryn and Everleigh as the Romeoville community continues to reel. Currently, more than $5,000 has been raised.
McCauley-Sullivan Funeral Home in Bolingbrook will hold funeral services from noon to 4 p.m. on June 29. Lauryn requested that those who loved him make a donation in his name to an animal shelter or suicide prevention organizations.
“I will see you in every breathtaking sunset you create. I will always be so damn proud of you. “I love you so much, dad,” Lauryn said.
