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Read the press release here.

Slain Teacher's Funeral: 'She Was So Loving [And] Connected With The Kids'

By Linze Rice | October 17, 2017 2:03pm
 Cynthia Trevillion was laid to rest in a platinum Chrysler hearse that flashed purple lights Tuesday morning.
Cynthia Trevillion was laid to rest in a platinum Chrysler hearse that flashed purple lights Tuesday morning.
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DNAinfo/Linze Rice

ROGERS PARK — At a time when Cynthia Trevillion would have normally been working with youngsters struggling in school, about 50 friends, family and students instead were at her funeral.

Mouners came to pay respect to the slain teacher, 64, who died Friday evening after a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting struck her in the head.

On a sunny October morning, her loved ones surrounded Trevillion's casket as it was carried from Christian Community Church in Ravenswood into a platinum Cadillac hearse. As it chauffeured her to the cemetery with flashing purple lights, mourners gathered in the church yard to hold each other and wave goodbye. 

"She was so loving," said Florian Burfeind, who taught with Trevillion, at the Chicago Waldorf school and attended the same church. "She was very connected to the kids; very connected to the community of Rogers Park."

One neighbor who lived near Trevillion in the 6800 block of North Greenview Avenue described her friend as a "wonderful person and a wonderful gardener" — a sentiment echoed by another funeral-goer who said there was "nothing bad to say about Cynthia."

An online campaign that initially aimed to raise $15,000 for Trevillion's husband, who was with her at the time of the shooting, has more than doubled.

Though her physical presence will no longer be in the classroom, some Far North Side residents hope Trevillion's death can still provide some much-needed, albeit difficult, lessons on how to move forward as a community struggling with violence.

Friends, family and students came to say goodbye to their beloved friend and teacher. [DNAinfo/Linze Rice]