ATLANTA — A local teacher who recently had the flu has died.
Middle-school teacher and volleyball coach, Cathryn Kearns, had just turned 38. She passed away Friday.
We're learning about how the school and its students plan to remember her for live reports on Channel 2 Action News This Morning.
Her close friend Kim Kozak told Channel 2's Carl Willis she has known Kearns since they were both 14 years old.
She said Kearns lived a life of service -- training and fundraising for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk and giving to the Ronald McDonald House.
"I think her retirement job would have been … she always said she would work for a charity," Kozak said
Beyond her service, Kearns poured herself into her work at Sutton Middle School in northwest Atlanta,
impacting students and her volleyball players with her passion for teaching.
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A crisis support team was at the school Monday to help students and staff process the sudden and shocking loss.
"I can't imagine, because the kids loved her. They just adored her,” Kozak told Willis.
Kearns seemed to be in better health after battling the flu but Friday, Kozak said the woman she considered family, died after suffering a massive stroke.
"I was trying to listen to the doctors, taking what they're saying, but it seems like it's so rare, but she had a massive stroke. And they can't really explain why it happened," Kozak said.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, studies have shown that flu is associated with an increase of heart attack and stroke.
But loved ones aren't ready to label Kearns' passing as flu-related.
"She was perfectly fine. She had hung out with a friend on Monday. She went to Peachtree City, had a great day with her dad and friends," Kozak said.
Now all that Kearns’ loved ones have are memories, and her personal mantra of "live, love and dance,"
to remember her.
"I'm not processing it yet. I'm waiting to hear the garage door go up and for her to pull in and come in and catch up," Kozak said.
Cox Media Group
