{"id":1207,"date":"2026-06-04T23:05:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1207"},"modified":"2026-06-04T23:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T23:05:14","slug":"heres-what-grieving-myers-park-high-school-parents-want-others-to-understand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1207","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s what grieving Myers Park High School parents want others to understand"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the hardest things for the parents left behind, it turns out, is living with the public\u2019s desire for a simple explanation.<\/p>\n

Read more Mecklenburg missed \u2018flashing red signs\u2019 before girl found dead, NC legislators say<\/a><\/p>\n

Was it pressure? Bullying? Social media? Mental illness? School culture?<\/p>\n

After long periods of grief, reflection and painful self-questioning, most of the families interviewed by The Charlotte Observer no longer seem interested in reducing their children\u2019s deaths to any one thing.<\/p>\n

Instead, they describe something messier and far more difficult to live with:<\/p>\n

They did not fully realize how much pain their children were carrying.<\/b><\/p>\n

Again and again, grieving parents described children who continued functioning outwardly \u2014 going to school, maintaining friendships, playing sports and making plans for the future \u2014 even while privately struggling.<\/p>\n

Danielle South, whose son Parker was a Myers Park High senior when he took his own life last November, says she has since come to believe he himself may not have fully understood what was happening emotionally.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the lack of conversation around it, education around it,\u201d she says, \u201cParker did not know that what was happening to him was a health issue, and that it was temporary, and that we could have gotten him help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coble Ishee\u2019s parents, meanwhile, say their son became skilled at concealing the full extent of how significantly he was suffering.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew he was struggling, and we were desperately trying to figure out what to do,\u201d says Jennifer Branca of her son, who took his own life in 2021, when he was a sophomore at Myers Park. \u201cWe were desperate to try and figure out, Where could we send him? Is there an in-patient option?<\/i> \u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody is culpable for this, and if anybody is, it\u2019s Trey and myself,\u201d Jennifer concludes. \u201cAnd I would like to impart to kids, \u2018Hey, even if you think somebody is just exaggerating \u2014 it\u2019s hyperbole \u2014 share it with an adult, whether it\u2019s a teacher or your own parent, or tell the person\u2019s parent. Even if they get mad, please, please share.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adds Danielle South: \u201cEvery situation has been so unique, and the reasons behind all the tragedies have been so varied. If you could say, Oh, it\u2019s the pressure of college, or it\u2019s the pressure of sports, or it\u2019s the pressure of social media \u2014 if you could pinpoint it down for any number of them \u2014 then you could hone in on how to help and what to change, and what to do different.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut they\u2019ve all been so vastly different. That makes it even more complicated. It\u2019s like Whack-a-Mole (with trying to figure out) where do you direct your resources?\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, on a more intimate level, the parents are all determined to keep their children\u2019s memories alive.<\/b><\/p>\n

Lara Fleming, whose daughter Abby took her own life during her sophomore year at Myers Park in 2023, is doing it in part through the ladybug pins she hopes will bring comfort to Abby\u2019s grieving friends at graduation.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump administration is disbanding climate research during hurricane season<\/a><\/p>\n

The pins are just one example, though. Last year, the Flemings established the Abby Fleming Endowment at Camp Seafarer<\/a>, where Abby spent eight summers, to help send other girls to camp. Their son Noah and two friends also created the ARF (Abby Rose Fleming) Fund<\/a>, which supports the Katie Blessing Center<\/a>, a planned mental-health treatment facility for children and teenagers in North Carolina.<\/p>\n

The Souths, meanwhile, continue supporting mental-health awareness efforts in Parker\u2019s name while staying connected to the Myers Park community he loved so deeply. Last month, they traveled to Raleigh to share Parker\u2019s story as part of a push to improve mental-health support for teenagers across North Carolina.<\/p>\n

And Jennifer Branca has spoken publicly about Coble at youth-running programs and workplaces in hopes that openness around mental health might help other struggling teenagers feel less alone.<\/p>\n

But above all else, the parents want people to know their children were bigger than the way they died<\/b>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a ton of fun as a kid,\u201d Jennifer says of Coble. \u201cHe had a ton of life, a ton of energy, he was very passionate about the things he was passionate about, and he had a lot of great friends. And so I think we look back on his life \u2014 and as time passes from his death \u2014 I think we try and spend more and more time focusing on who he was, and how he lived 98% of his life.\u201d<\/p>\n

She describes him as \u201ca real empath, in every sense of the word.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it turns out that a common theme among the victims, according to the parents we spoke with, is that their kids were caretakers \u2014 emotionally attuned and deeply loved.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn high school,\u201d Bo South says of his son Parker, \u201che was the kid that made everybody else feel good, who recognized somebody wasn\u2019t getting attention and would go and bring them in and kind of lift them up. \u2026 Looking for people, \u2018Hey, you doing okay?\u2019 Part of that was what made it so shocking for us, was that his nature was so helpful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Oh, and there\u2019s one more thing these parents want you to know: It\u2019s okay to talk to them about their kids.<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the biggest fears that a parent who\u2019s lost a child has is that your child will be forgotten, that their memory will be forgotten,\u201d Lara Fleming says. \u201cDon\u2019t be scared to say Abby\u2019s name, or to tell us a story about Abby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re always<\/i> thinking about her, and we\u2019re always<\/i> thinking about losing her,\u201d Lara says. \u201cSo you\u2019re not hurting us by bringing her up.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis, help is available. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or visit 988lifeline.org<\/a> for confidential support.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more CMPD announces arrest of 18-year-old in west Charlotte fatal shooting<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 5:00 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NC families of Myers Park students who died by suicide say grief has left them with few explanations \u2014 and a deeper understanding of hidden emotional suffering.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1206,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nHere\u2019s what grieving Myers Park High School parents want others to understand - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1207\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Here\u2019s what grieving Myers Park High School parents want others to understand - 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