Joan Humphries called me because she was concerned that few parents in O'Fallon were aware that two teenagers who knew each other, both 15, had committed suicide two months apart.

Both played football at Zumwalt North High School. Gage Henry, a sophomore who played varsity, took his life April 21. He also wrestled. Jake Sebestyen, a freshman who played on the frosh team, took his life June 23. He also played hockey and volleyball.

Joan's son, Jacob, was a friend of Jake's.

"It is so sad," Joan says. "It is horrible."

If Jake's death had occurred during the school year, Joan told me, she is confident school administrators would have informed parents and called in crisis counselors. But she was worried because it didn't happen during the school year.

"We need to make parents aware that this is occurring in our community and to pay attention to your kids, especially if they had any relationship with these kids," says Joan, a former social worker.

Before I go further, here are numbers to call if you're thinking about suicide.

- Zumwalt North High School, 636-272-4447. Ask for Principal Joe Sutton, who will arrange a meeting with a crisis counselor.

- The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

- Kids Under Twenty One, 1-888-644-5886. Staffed by trained youth volunteers. 4-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 4 p.m.-midnight Friday and Saturday.

Joan says that after Gage took his life she talked to her son and cautioned him that in some instances suicides occur in clusters, especially among young people who know one another. She never imagined that the next person would be her son's friend, someone who had been in her home.

The dead boys knew one another, says Sutton, the school principal.

"I know that Jake was impacted by what Gage did," he said.

When Gage died - on a Tuesday during the school year - about 150 students met with crisis counselors the next day. An announcement had been made at the high school.

When Jake died last week, word went out through each Zumwalt school - they all offer summer school - and a meeting was held at the Zumwalt North cafeteria.

Sutton expected 50 to 100 people to attend. About 400 showed up, including about 30 parents.

Sutton says Jake's father was there, as well, and he urged students to talk to their parents if they are having thoughts of suicide, adding that he wished his own son had done so. Jake's father then asked the students there to tell him stories about his son.

There were many wonderful things said about Jake but I will not share them here. Those with expertise on suicide advise that media accounts neither glorify nor sensationalize suicide death.

Instead, I'll point out the obvious. It's a permanent decision that probably could have been avoided had the person told someone and received professional help.

Fort Zumwalt will sponsor a seminar on teen suicide for parents at 7 p.m. Aug. 10 at the Fort Zumwalt North auditorium.

Marian McCord, executive director of Communities Healing Adolescent Depression and Suicide, says suicide is often connected to depression.

Teens with suicidal thoughts are most likely to share them with peers, she says. "If someone says, 'I want to end my life' or 'I don't want to be here anymore,' the friend who hears that is their lifeline. Their job is to not fix that problem but to get that child professional help."

They do that by telling a trusted adult about their friend's suicidal thoughts.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommendations for the prevention and containment of suicide clusters.

A suicide cluster is broadly defined as suicides or attempted suicides that occur closer together in space and time than normal. The CDC's recommendations include how to identify others at risk following the suicide of a friend, such as those who have attempted suicide themselves. Also at risk are the pallbearers at the funeral of a suicide victim.