Those who

knew her considered 36-year-old Rebecca Herrick an unlikely candidate for a

heart attack. But last September, the healthy, energetic sixth-grade teacher

died when her heart suddenly stopped.

Unknowingly,

Herrick suffered from heart disease — the nation’s leading killer of women. When

she died, she left behind two kids of her own, an entire class and co-workers

at Kelly Elementary School to mourn her loss.

So when

February, named Heart Health Month by the American Heart Association, rolled

around, a teacher and the school’s leadership class organized a fundraiser in Herrick’s

memory.

Teacher and

friend Tina Brown, who had worked closely with Herrick, started selling paper

valentine hearts, red pins and red bracelets to raise money for the American

Heart Association. By mid-month, the class raised $750.

“It’s just

tragic — so shocking,” school secretary Sue Edmiston, Brown’s mom, said today. “Here’s

this healthy, fit woman, with no family history of heart problems, and like

that she’s gone. But I’m extremely proud of my daughter, who was such a good friend

to Rebecca. This fundraiser has been very helpful in her healing.”

During

announcements every morning, leadership students offer heart health tips. Walls

in the school’s administration office are covered in the paper hearts the class

tapes up every time someone donates.

Brown and

Herrick first met five years ago, when they first got assigned to teach a class

together.

“She was

hilarious; she could always make you laugh,” Brown remembered. “And she loved

to write; the students remember that about her.”

Leading her

students to focus on heart health has been a healing experience for Brown, she

said.

“It’s good.

It feels good to take such a sad and unfortunate situation and try to make

something good from it,” she said. “It was just this reminder that we all have

to take care of ourselves.”

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