Crossing guard, and a lot more

For the past decade or so, Pat Hamel kept a close eye on the kids walking to and from River Woods Elementary School in Naperville.

Tough duty, considering the veteran crossing guard made things a lot safer at the busy Naperville Boulevard/River Woods Drive intersection, about a block from the school.

But "Miss Pat" — as a couple of generations of schoolchildren, parents and staff knew her — went above and beyond. That included everything from handing out treats on holidays to clipping coupons for families who use them.

"The morning of the day she died, she had given one of the mothers a whole pile of coupons," River Woods Principal Robyn Rippel …