Two Washington County moms lost sons to suicide. Now they’re on a mission to save other families.
By Marcus Aarsvold
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WEST BEND, Wis. (WTMJ) — Two Washington County mothers who lost their teenage sons to suicide are sharing their stories as new data from the Washington County Medical Examiner’s Office reveals where most suicides in the county occur.
New statistics showed that over the last 10 years, 154 suicides in Washington County happened at home, 19 happened in parking lots, and 8 happened in the woods.
Janna Traylor lost her son Luke to suicide in 2023. He was 15 years old and attended Slinger High School. She’s getting through her third year of grief.
“I just have these jolts of that feeling of it hitting me that Luke is not here,” Traylor said. “And he will never be here again.”
Jackie Schmoldt lost her son Zak to suicide in 2019. He was 16 years old and attended West Bend West High School.
“He was so strong,” Schmoldt said. “Until he wasn’t.”
Both mothers said it’s important to talk about the newly released statistics.
“It’s alarming,” Schmoldt said.
Suzanne Milkus runs Hope Connections at NAMI in West Bend, a free, no-insurance-needed group session for adults who have lost loved ones to suicide.
“This can happen to anybody,” Milkus said.
She said men and boys face the highest risk of dying by suicide because of the stigma surrounding talking about feelings, expressing emotions, and showing vulnerability.
“Start to talk about how we feel,” Milkus said. “Help the men in our lives to do that and have that be a regular conversation.”
Schmoldt echoed that message.
“We need to be better about letting men and young teenage boys talk about it and not be embarrassed by it,” she said. “Oh you’re going to see a therapist? No big deal! It should be just so normal.”
Both mothers said they have made it their mission to prevent other families from enduring the pain they have experienced.
“I told myself when he passed away that something good was going to have to come out of this unspeakable tragedy,” Traylor said. “Luke was a beautiful soul. His story deserves to keep going however it’s able to do that.”
They also said the effort has to come from more than women checking in — they want to see more men asking if their sons, brothers, and friends are okay.
Traylor hopes her son’s story encourages people to send a text, call a friend, and talk about their emotions.
“I just hope that where he is,” she said. “He is looking in on us and he’s proud of us.”
This story was reported by WTMJ’s journalist Marcus Aarsvold and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. WTMJ’s editorial team and Marcus Aarsvold verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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