Family and friends honor MPS teacher Latonia Ford killed in suspected domestic incident
Latonia Ford loved to give in any way she could. She loved crafts and could make a t-shirt for any occasion.
More than 100 people gathered Sunday evening on the corner of North 60th Street and West Hampton Avenue for a balloon release where the 51-year-old was killed a day earlier.
Ford was a teacher with the Milwaukee Public Schools at Elm Creative Arts School, a mother of two and grandmother of one.
According to the Milwaukee Police Department, the suspect, a 52-year-old man, turned himself in at a police station. Criminal charges will be referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office.
Her sister Cheryl Ford-Ross confirmed Ford had been in a relationship with the man for about eight years.
“She had just removed herself from the situation,” Ford-Ross said.
Ford was on her way to pick up a friend and spend the day with her shortly before the shooting, her sister said.
On Sunday, dozens of her family members and friends wore purple, Ford’s favorite color, in her honor.
“She was an all-around loving person, Ford-Ross said. “Whatever she could do to help, she would do it.”
Ford-Ross remembers recently trying to learn how to make t-shirts for the Fourth of July. Ford tried to teach her, but she was not getting it.
“We laughed because I couldn’t figure out how to operate the machine,” she said.
On her last day of teaching before summer vacation, Ford-Ross remembers her sister telling her about a boy who cried because he was sad Ford would no longer be his teacher.
“They loved her,” she said. “She made a big impact on everybody.”
The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 800-799-7233. The Sojourner Family Peace Center in Milwaukee operates a 24-hour confidential hotline at 414-933-2722. A directory of other resources is available here.
More: Where to find help for sexual assault and domestic violence in Milwaukee
More: Here are 7 culturally specific groups helping domestic abuse survivors in Milwaukee
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Gathering honors MPS teacher killed in suspected domestic incident
