Before the funeral for William Alex Joy, grief counselors and ministers were available for students and members of the community at Belpre High School.

Guidance counselor Karen Waller said kids deal with grief in their own ways just like adults do.

She suggested parents listen and watch to check kids are grieving in a healthy way and that they're talking about it.

Cars lined Belpre Middle School, which is now Belpre Elementary, to remember the life of fifteen-year-old William Alexander Joy.

"He loved people, he loved his family. So we are grieving but we are also joyful for his life, his friends. A lot of the kids are remembering good things about him today (Monday) but it's also a very sad time for our community and our school district," said Waller.

Waller knew Joy, who went by Alex, since he was a kindergartner.

"He was a fine young man. He was very active in the river," she said.

Friday morning he passed away after a car accident on Farson Street in Belpre. A 13-year-old passenger remained in critical condition at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus Monday.

So Monday, counselors gathered at Belpre High School to help grieving students.

"Kids this age are shocked that there's a possibility that someone they knew that they're used to seeing would no longer be around," Waller said.

She said teenagers and kids grieve just like adults do- in their own ways.

"We grieve in different ways, we accept the reality of a death in a different way and in a different time," she said.

Counselors said watch and listen to your kids to check they're going through the stages in a healthy way.

"Be available to listen to the kids, what they're saying, knowing they might seek out the company of their peers and not their parents," Waller said.

She said it's important for parents to check that their kids are talking about it.

"If they seem to be more withdrawn, if they changed what is normal, just remembering this is not a normal situation and there's going to be times it doesn't seem comfortable," she said.

And that's why the counselors are there, to help.

Counselors were there Monday, along with ministers, members of the Washington County Mental Health, and the Crisis Response Team.

Waller said they'll continue to offer counseling to students at Belpre Elementary and Middle Schools the next few days.