Gwinnett County

Longtime Gwinnett County science teacher dies of COVID-19

GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — A longtime Gwinnett County science teacher has died of COVID-19.

Family members told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Janet Bruce, 50, died Aug. 12.

Bruce was a physics teacher at Grayson High School.

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Her niece told the AJC that she reported to school July 26 for preplanning but felt sick two days later. She was hospitalized later that week.

Her husband, Christopher, is currently hospitalized and battling the virus. She leaves him behind as well as her two children, Dalton and Gentry.

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Her niece declined to say if the family was vaccinated.

Bruce taught for Gwinnett County Schools for 27 years. For 17 of those years, she taught at Grayson. A lifelong Gwinnett County resident, she gradated from Central Gwinnett High School and went to the University of Georgia.

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“Janet committed her life to being a pillar for anyone who needed her- in or out of the classroom,” according to her obituary. “Spending most of her time with children of her own, of the church, or in the school, she could always be found having fun, being young and silly, and dancing.”

There are currently 782 active cases of COVID-19 among students and staff at Gwinnett County schools. The district does not specify how many of those cases are among teachers.

There are currently 13 active cases of COVID-19 at Grayson High School.