Published: September 17, 2009 12:49 pm      

Mystery surrounds death of man found in Clay Co. cemetery

Found lifeless near a cemetery Saturday, Laurel County substitute teacher Bill Sparkman, 51, was mourned Monday.

“He was just super,” said Gilbert Acciardo, Johnson Elementary Family Resource Youth Service Center director. “Dependable, fun, a professional. He really loved the kids and he loved the teaching profession.”

Sparkman’s body was found in a clearing in a wooded area near Hoskins Cemetery on Arnett’s Fork in southern Clay County.

“Someone was going to the cemetery where they had family members buried,” Kentucky State Police Trooper 1st Class Don Trosper said. “As they were driving to go up to the cemetery, that’s when they saw. It was reported by a passerby.”

KSP Detective Donald Wilson was sent to investigate.

“At this time, the manner of death is unknown,” Trosper said. “Foul play has not been ruled out.”

Sparkman’s body was taken to the state medical examiners office in Frankfort for an autopsy. The cause of death is pending its results.

Trosper confirmed Sparkman had not been shot, as some rumors indicated.

Acciardo and his colleagues at Johnson Elementary became concerned over Sparkman’s well-being when he didn’t show up to work at after-school day care Thursday.

“Mr. Sparkman was a very responsible person,” Acciardo said.

Acciardo went to Sparkman’s home — he lived alone — to check up on him.

“We even went late that night when he normally would be home,” he said. “We know him and we know his habits and we know if he should be home or not.”

All they found was Sparkman’s dog Jack.

“By Friday morning, we were sure something was wrong,” Acciardo said. “I contacted the state police and had them start an investigation about his whereabouts and his well-being.”

Sparkman moved to Laurel County in 1993 as part of an assignment for his job with the Boy Scouts of America. Shortly after arriving, he became a volunteer at Johnson Elementary, an experience he so enjoyed he became interested in pursuing a career in education. He was eventually offered a position as instructional assistant, which he accepted.

“For the nine years, I did it, I loved,” he told The Sentinel-Echo in March 2008. “All those years at Johnson, I taught the first hour of the morning, they called it daily oral review ... I loved teaching that.”

So much so, Sparkman decided to become a teacher.

In the summer of 2005, Sparkman enrolled in Western Governor’s University to earn his bachelor’s degree.

Spending an average of 20 hours a week studying and plowing through classes, Sparkman was set to graduate in December 2007.

But in September 2007, he showed his doctor a cyst that had developed on the side of his neck.

“As soon as he saw it, I went to the hospital,” he said.

He was eventually diagnosed with Stage 3 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Sparkman underwent six session of chemotherapy, during which his Johnson Elementary colleagues rallied around him.

“They were sneaky,” he said. “They gave me two huge baskets full of food, books, tapes and clothes and gift certificates. I was just ... I couldn’t believe they’d done that.”

Despite his illness, Johnson continued to work and, by the end of December, he’d completed his classroom work and student teaching. In answer, his Western Governor’s University mentor asked him to attend graduation in Salt Lake City as the keynote speaker. He agreed and made the trip, imparting some words of wisdom to 600 of his fellow students.

“I’d been knocked down, but I refused to be knocked out,” he said. “Those brick walls will appear from time to time in your career. Do not let them stop you. There are no failures, just teaching moments.”

Sparkman was substituting at schools this fall. It is believed he was also working for the United States Census Bureau.

Staff writer Tara Kaprowy can be reached by e-mail at tkaprowy@sentinel-echo.com.