Sonoma Valley teacher died of apparent heart attack in car accident

Students and staff mourned a longtime Sonoma Valley teacher on Wednesday, the day after she died of an apparent heart attack as she drove to school.

Kathleen Ann Krempely, 64, of Santa Rosa taught second grade at Glen Ellen's Dunbar School and had instructed generations of elementary schoolers in the district since 1976.

"She was just a really creative hands-on teacher," Superintendent Louann Carlomagno said. "When you'd go into her classroom she had so many activities going on all at the same time."

Krempely appeared to have suffered cardiac arrest while behind the wheel of her Ford Taurus, said her husband of 40 years, Dennis Krempely. They have two grown sons, Nathan and Kalen Krempely.

"I feel honored that I even had a chance to share my life with her," her husband said. "She did a lot for me too. She was teaching me all the time."

Krempely taught at three schools during her 36 years with the Sonoma Valley Unified School District.

She especially loved teaching second graders because she cherished helping children learn to read, her husband said.

The Chicago-born woman was a voracious reader and a passionate student who took a near-constant stream of education courses to stay at the top of her field.

"It was amazing, the passion of hers," said her husband. "There was no limit, nothing she wouldn't try to pursue to learn."

Krempely was behind another car at a light at Highway 12 and Calistoga Road about 7:30 a.m. Tuesday when her car accelerated slowly and hit the back of a car stopped in front of her, police said.

The other driver wasn't injured but Krempely was unresponsive when emergency personnel arrived.

At the Dunbar Road campus Wednesday, therapy dogs and counselors helped staff and students with the sudden loss of a beloved teacher, Carlomagno said.

"It's just heartbreaking for everyone," Carlomagno said.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact Officer Matt Sanchez at 543-3636.