Kara Smith Schoenle, a 1990 graduate of Sequim High School who now lives in Chicago, brought her two children to pay their respects to Michael Pearson, one of the soldiers slain at Fort Hood. The family has relatives in the military.

“There are people out there fighting for our lives and for our freedom,” she told Adam, 11, and Brookelynn, 7, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “And then some person comes and takes their lives. It’s not much different than war.”

Schoenle, 37, is married to Chicago firefighter Thorpe Schoenle. She took her children to Chicago’s Midway Airport to support the family of Pearson, whose hometown was Joliet, Ill. She is the daughter of Lois Perry and Asa Smith of Sequim.

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