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EDITOR’S NOTE: This story contains discussion about suicide. If you or someone you know is in crisis, help is available by calling 988. CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A Walterboro man is turning a tragedy into hope for others. His wife died by suicide, and now he is honoring her memory by providing a lifeline to students at the college where they fell in love. “Lynn was an extremely special person. She had strong faith, a wonderful wife, wonderful mother, daughter, friend, just very special. She had an incredible smile, could truly just light up a room,” widower Scott Moody said. Scott Moody met his wife, Lynn, at the College of Charleston when he was a junior, and she was a freshman. Lynn loved horses and was on the school’s equestrian team. “And when we met, I love to tell the story. It was love at first sight, blown away. I’m not even sure she saw me,” Scott Moody said. Friendship blossomed into romance. Shortly after he graduated, the two started dating, and they eventually married. Lynn Moody worked as a guidance counselor in the Colleton County School District and loved helping students, especially those who faced challenges. To those around her, she seemed to have it all. But behind that beautiful smile, there was tremendous despair. “She battled with depression on and off her entire life, you know, and had some things in childhood that were, as I found out through our marriage, were difficult,” Scott Moody said. In the last three years of her life, Lynn developed an undiagnosed, debilitating physical illness. “And so you know that physical illness really set in and affected her mental health, and then vice versa, and so the last few years of her life were pretty challenging,” Scott Moody said. Looking back, Moody says he realizes there were little signs that indicated his wife was losing hope. Signs like not finding joy in things she used to, including that final Christmas celebration. Mental illness often manifests itself during high school and college years. The American Society for Suicide Prevention says suicide is the second leading cause of death in college students. Approximately 24,000 college students attempt suicide each year, and 1,100 don’t survive their suicide attempt. Scott Moody reached out to their alma mater to continue doing what Lynn loved, helping young people. He, along with other family members, started the Lynn L. Moody Endowment for Mental Health and Suicide Awareness. “So Scott’s a wonderful man and he wanted really to help us be able to expand mental health awareness and suicide awareness and help our students and faculty staff gain more skills and what to do when they see someone struggling and in distress,” Rachael McNamara, Director of Student Wellness and Well-Being at the College of Charleston, said. The endowment funds large-scale wellness events on campus, like a recent Mental Reset Minute wellness fair that allowed students to check in on their mental health. It also funds an online class students take called “How to Help a Struggling Friend,” which outlines signs of concern to look for in others. “And there’s some physical signs, too, that we talk about. If someone is used to, changes the way that they look every day to something more casual, and if they stop going out as much, or stop hanging out with friends that they used to, or stop going to class,” McNamara said. Funds also pay for a texting software that students use quite often. “Just looking over last year, I think we had something like 300 texts and 45 people who came in person. So texting is definitely the way that students are communicating,” McNamara said. Scott Moody believes Lynn would be pleased to know that students are getting the assistance they need. “I still have students that she worked with that’ll come up to me and say, ‘I don’t know how she knew, but I needed help back when I was in middle school, high school, and the difference that she made,’” Scott Moody said. To learn more about suicide prevention or to make a donation to the Lynn L. Moody Endowment, click here.
