A beloved teacher in the Sweetwater School System passed away on Monday at the age of 60.

Stan Hickey taught at Sweetwater Junior High School for the past 24 years.

"Our system family is greatly saddened by the loss of one of our family members," said Director of Schools Melanie Miller. "Stan was a wonderful man with a huge heart and compassion for his students. He was a beloved teacher and friend, and his loss affects our entire community."

Hickey also spent his summers teaching math in summer school. Miller said he also taught photography classes in enrichment summer school programs.

"He rarely missed school. I was amazed to see that he had such an amount of sick days accumulated because he never wanted to be absent," said Miller.

See full story in the Wednesday, July 11, edition of The Advocate & Democrat.