By Amy Jo Walter

Monroe

I would like to take a moment to introduce myself to the Green County community. Some of you may know who I am, many of you probably don’t.

My name is Amy Jo Walter, I would like to be your next Green County Coroner.

I assure you I understand the job and what comes with it. I have served as a deputy coroner for Green County for 6 years. I have been the one that has knocked on the door to deliver the devastating news, I have held you in my arms while you cried in disbelief, I have sat for hours upon hours answering your questions and somehow trying to give you some comfort and peace in the passing of your loved one. I have had the grim task of attending autopsies and working with the pathologist to find the answers to cause and manner of death. I have sat in the witness stand in the Green County Court House being the voice for the decedent.

I have had a proud career as a Firefighter/Paramedic and have worked on the transplant team for UW Madison Hospital, working with pre and post transplanted patients. I have put myself through 100’s of hours of schooling in human anatomy and physiology and death and arson investigation to be a well- trained professional.

I want to be your coroner because I believe so strongly in the position and its responsibilities to the community. I believe in being an advocate for the families and a voice for the decedents. I believe in the natural compassion for another human in their most grief-stricken moment. I am proud that God has given me a heart to serve and compassion to show to others.

I would like to see the role of the coroner being proactive rather than reactive. I would like to work with our community organizations like Jacob’s Swag and Tugs to put together campaigns for suicide prevention, with local motorcycle clubs for motorcycle awareness, along with our farming community with an emphasis on safety and awareness during planting and harvest seasons.

I work for the University of Illinois as a field staff instructor and will pull from this background my knowledge of designing and delivering classes to the community. I would like to work with SSM Health System to put together free classes for the community on what to expect when the unexpected happens. As a deputy coroner the one question that was asked the most to me was “what do we do now?”

It is a sad reality but we lose many infants every year in this county through miscarriages and stillbirth. I would like to see an angel statue and a garden created and dedicated to these innocent lives lost. A place of comfort and peace where their families can come and grieve and heal.

I will lead the office of the Coroner with professional compassion and ask for your support and your vote in the primary election August 9, 2022 and the general election on November 8, 2022.