Ann Marie Vargas

Memorial services will be held at the All Faith Chapel on Saturday, December 16th at 10:30AM

Shockwaves reverberated through the community last week when news circulated of the sudden death of Ann-Marie Vargas, who passed away at home in her sleep on Dec. 6, 2017.

"She believed in 'do no harm,' and she lived by it. She believed in human dignity and left it intact, and honored, in everyone she met," said longtime friend and teaching colleague Teri Cleveland.

"I never heard her raise her voice. She was the most patient, soft-spoken, lady-like, professional woman I ever met. She saw beauty and potential in absolutely everyone and everything around her, and she never stopped nurturing it."

As thousands mourn the unexpected loss, Cleveland's words capture the flood of expressions that resound through a community in grief.

From a young age, Ann-Marie exhibited the traits that would later become hallmarks of her character — a stunning gift for the visual arts, and an ability to meaningfully connect with everyone around her.

Following her graduation from Burroughs High School, Ann-Marie worked her way through college, earning multiple degrees. At one of those jobs, she would meet the love of her life.

Ann-Marie and Fernando noticed each other at Los Amigos, one of the Vargas family restaurants. Fernando describes their eventual "meet cute" as decidedly uncinematic. "I had finally worked up the courage to ask her out," he recalls. "And it was clumsy, deflated and embarrassing" … and would serve as a standing joke between them throughout their relationship.

But she liked him enough to say yes, and even to ask him out on a second date. That continued for long time, including a stint of long-distance romance, until they married in 1997.

By then she was working full-time as a teacher for Sierra Sands Unified School District, and she supported Fernando until he finished his schooling to become a teacher in 2000.

In 2003, the couple was blessed with their first son, Gabriel. Twins Isabella and Alexander came along in 2005 to complete the family.

"She prayed those kids into existence, and loved them every moment," said Cleveland.

Hanging above the Vargas family hearth is an exquisite painting of Bella. Half-completed portraits of Gabe and Alex remain in her studio. "I think I'm going to hang them up in our home as they are," said Fernando.

While Ann-Marie was raising her own children, she continued to be an influence on the countless thousands who trickled through her room.

"She was one of those rare teachers who never complained about how hard her job was, she provided a safe place to anyone who came into her classroom," recalled Cleveland. "She never gave up, she never quit trying, she never saw an impossibility. She did everything with kindness."

"It's going to be very lonely here without her," said fellow art teacher Holly Hodgson, Ann-Marie's collaborator and friend for 15 years. "There is not an aspect of my life that Ann-Marie did not touch.

"When I think about her kids — her own children as well as her students — she just anticipated their needs. She always knew what would make their lives full and meaningful. And she did the same for me, you know? That is such a gift. She put the people she loved so far ahead of herself. I have never known, and never will know, another person like Ann-Marie."

"I cannot think of any person who better exemplified the teacher's heart," said David Ostash, longtime friend and colleague. "She was so authentically warm and caring and dedicated, and those were characteristics she deployed at all times and places."

"She was a remarkable instructor who brought art to life for her students. I couldn't calculate the number of students, past and present, who benefited from her positive influence. And her legacy even extended to future students who looked forward to be in her class."

Ostash said that his is one of the many lives improved, both professionally and personally, by Ann-Marie. "I was talking to her brother-in-law John about how we all have people in our lives that we like and love to varying degrees, but there always seems to be something to quibble about. I believe Ann-Marie was one of the few who no one could say or think anything negative about.

"She played a multitude of roles — as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, teacher, friend — but the way she balanced it was so seamlessly graceful. I don't want to sound trite, but we lost a beacon of light and positivity in our community."

"I have to say, though, she wasn't just kind. She was brave. She stood up for what she believed in, and although she was never pushy or unreasonable, she did not back down from her convictions. And if you were lucky enough to be a loved one, she fought for your happiness," said Hodgson.

"I know we are all worried about her children, who have her sensitivity and wisdom. But I also see in them their mother's strength.

"And of course there are a lot of students here at school who are still reeling. She would want someone to be here to support them, so that's what we are doing. We won't let anyone fall."

Ann-Marie's indelible mark endures in the schools, in her church, and in the countless community ventures she supported and enhanced through her artistic gifts.

Her loved ones hope to honor her memory through the establishment of some kind of fixture in her name.

"What I've been hearing since Wednesday is what a wonderful person she was — the incredible and positive impact she had on everyone she met — adults, students, our neighbors," said Fernando.

"I think we have a wonderful community. You always see an outpouring at times like this. It's because of people like her. And I am very grateful that my family is now on the receiving end of the kindness she gave to others."