PHOENIX — A Valley teacher’s family is living without their beloved daughter and sister after she died on Sunday.
Diana Escobar’s family said she died after she was taken to the hospital a couple of days prior.
“We don’t know what to do, she will never be replaced. She will always live in our hearts,” Fernando Escobar, Diana Escobar’s brother said.
Fernando Escobar said his sister had just begun teaching at Solano Elementary in the Osborn School District.
“She started to fall in love with her students and it’s sad that she didn’t have the opportunity to see that go through,” Fernando Escobar said.
If good teachers aren’t made, they must be born with a magic heart that can’t help but teach, even Fernando Escobar’s older brother learned that.
“She was the one who inspired me, she said, she would always say, ‘I’m not the smartest person, but I work really hard.’ She said, ‘if you work really hard, you’ll be able to achieve anything.’ And I took that page out of her book and it worked for me,” Fernando Escobar said.
Fernando Escobar said they had graduated from ASU together. He got an engineering degree, and she got her teaching degree.
Diana Escobar’s first teaching job was with Osborn School District. She was just two weeks into teaching her class when she died.
“This sad and sudden news has not allowed the school time yet to find a way to memorialize our colleague and member of our school community. Over the next days and weeks, we will be in touch with her family to learn more,” Osborn School District Superintendent Michael Robert said.
Fernando Escobar said Diana had COVID when her family took her to a Valley hospital on Friday, he said she did not get the COVID vaccine.
Fernando said she died on Sunday after he said she felt she was feeling better.
“Doctors mentioned how she was a very strong person she did not have to be on a respiratory - again, we were diagnosed with COVID, but it was her heart who failed her,” Fernando Escobar said.
Fernando is now holding his sister’s heart next to his own.
“She was an amazing person with a great personality, a big heart. She did everything for us,” Fernando Escobar said.
While Diana had a gift for teaching, Fernando Escobar said her Christmas Eve birthday, was a gift to her family.
“It’s very hard to not have her here anymore because it was a gift that didn’t last as long as I needed to,” Fernando Escobar said.
A fundraiser has been started for the family through Cashapp by a friend of the family. If you’d like to help them out, you can donate here.
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