METHUEN — Popular Methuen High School guidance counselor Gary Dionne died suddenly last night, school officials said today.
"Nobody knows for sure at this point what the cause of death was," said Superintendent Jeanne Whitten. "There are a lot of assumptions, but I haven't been told definitively."
Whitten said the entire school district is devastated.
Dionne, a Derry, N.H. resident, was in his early 60s and worked at Methuen High for his entire career. He was a special education guidance counselor, working with at-risk students, Whitten said.
"He has done great work with so many kids," Whitten said.
"Gary was a warm and kind person and he always put himself out there for kids and was always supportive to his fellow staff," said Denise Oldham, a special education administrator who worked with Dionne.
Dionne lost his wife and daughter in recent years, Oldham said.
"I know he was not ill. He wasn't fighting anything, but I haven't gotten any firsthand information from his family," Oldham said.
Teachers were informed of Dionne's death, then students were told and were given the opportunity to speak to school staff if they needed to, Oldham said.
Please see tomorrow's Eagle-Tribune for more coverage.
