Standing-Room-Only for Mourners of Chesterfield Teacher at Synagogue

A memorial service for Janet Esrock, the Chesterfield resident and  teacher-coach , drew an estimated 500 people to Temple Emanuel Friday morning.

Mourners spilled out into the lobby of the synagogue after many of them found limited parking across the street at , where Esrock, 50, was on Wild Horse Creek Road. Her , survived the crash.

Those in attendance heard friends and family speak of a woman dedicated to her family, her students and her school.

"She literally breathed Whitfield," one speaker said. Another described Esrock as someone who did not have the word "no" in her vocabulary.

A cousin described Esrock, who was a 1979 graduate of, as a champion of the underdog and a sentimentalist, figuring out how to learn Taps on the trumpet for her grandfather's funeral—but not how the emotion of the moment would impact her playing.

Esrock's husband, Chuck Esrock, paid tribute to members of the Monarch Fire Protection District who responded to the accident scene, as well as the staff at Mercy Hospital St. Louis who cared for Janet and their son Jonathan. He was released from the hospital last week.

Visitation is Friday, 2-5 p.m., at Whitfield School.