She says her son was a good kid
TENNESSE, ILL. -- "He just wanted to fit in," said Kathleen Clauson tearfully."
Sorrow fills Kathleen Clauson's heart after her 19-year-old son Jonathan Labbe {Lah-*BAY} shot and killed himself Wednesday. Clauson says she doesn't really know why her son took his life. She suspects the pressure became too much and perhaps haunting memories of school played a part.
Q: What was school like for him?
"School was hell for him. He was bullied at West Prairie and threatened," she said.
Clauson says her son had big dreams, that now will never be fulfilled.
"My son was a wonderful, brilliant boy. He was very kind. He was respectful of others. He didn't do drugs and he didn't drink," she said.
She says Labbe had dreams of becoming a marine. She said he so desperately wanted to get out of Tennessee and make a new life for himself. She says that all seems strange now. But Clauson doesn't want us to remember her son this way. She recalls the good things he did. He was a little with Big Brothers Big Sisters. He even received a good citizens award for helping the Macomb Police Department catch a wanted suspect.
"John asked if he could help and that boy ran blocks down Lafeyette Street and chases the man and brought him down," Clauson said.
For now, Clauson says she and her family will rely on fond memories to get them through this tough time.
"Everytime this child would go out in the grass, he'd find some shamrock like no tomorrow. He just had this gift."
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