Memorial Fund Established for Newborn of Teacher Who Died of Aneurysm

Updated 8:41 a.m., Oct. 8

Sara Husokowski woke up last Thursday morning with a headache. Within 10 minutes, the first grade teacher at Searles Elementary in Union City had passed away from a brain aneurysm. She was 36. 

“It was just so sudden,” friend April Lawrence told Patch. “There was nothing we could do.”

An avid yoga practitioner and salsa dancer, Husokowski was in great health, said her husband, Edwin Anderson. “This was just a shocker,” he added.

Husokowski leaves behind her newborn, 7-week-old William. 

Because Husokowski did not have life insurance, her friends have created an online memorial fund for William, Help Raise William. Lawrence, who started the Help Raise William page, is hoping community members will show her the same compassion that she showed others.

Husokowski was a first grade teacher at Searles and taught in the New Haven Unified School District for more than nine years. She often went the extra mile for her students, colleagues said.

"I have never met a teacher that was so willing to fight for kids and their needs," said Debi Knoth, former principal at Searles. "She was relentless in her efforts to make sure every child got what they needed ... Any child that had the privilege of knowing Sara was very fortunate to be touched by her compassion."

According to Knoth, Husokowski always stuck up for her students and wasn't afraid to confront other teachers who she felt were being unfair. She helped students and their families find necessary resources and services, and supported them outside of school.

Anderson added that Husokowski gave extra attention to students who needed it, making sure those less privileged didn’t get left behind. She also pushed to get multicultural books into classrooms, introducing diversity to students and allowing them to identify and build connections with different characters.

Husokowski even became a godmother of one of her students and would help the student with homework in the evenings, sometimes until 10 p.m.

"I’d tell her it’s late and that she has work in the morning, but she'd just say, 'These kids need me,'" Anderson said.

It wasn’t until that his wife had passed that Anderson learned that Husokowski was an organ donor — another selfless act that serves as a testament to her compassion.

“She had one of the most giving, loving hearts on this earth,” Anderson said.

The funeral service for Husokowski will be held this Thursday, Oct. 10 at 11 a.m. at Neighborhood Church, located at 20600 John Dr. in Castro Valley.

For more information on Husokowski and to donate to the Help Raise William fund, visit http://crushpath.crushpath.me/Sam/raisewilliam.