She was a free spirit with a passion for nature - a woman who never judged and was always there when her students needed an encouraging word.
Diane Davis Marinchak, an environmental science teacher at West Scranton High School, died Feb. 18 after suffering a massive heart attack. She was 60.
"She meant everything to us here at West Scranton, and to her students. They loved her," said Principal Robert Gentilezza.
Wearing T-shirts with one of Ms. Marinchak's favorite phrases, "Yeah baby," on the front, more than 100 students and friends remembered her love of the outdoors and her school in the courtyard she always pushed to maintain and improve.
They scattered birdseed in her honor and released a purple paper lantern into the sky, recalling Ms. Marinchak's feisty spirit and love of Bob Dylan.
The tribute was a fitting one for a woman speakers said had a green thumb and an appreciation for all kinds of life. Now they will carry on her legacy by revamping the courtyard over the next five years with landscaping and even digging a pond.
"We decided to do this on Earth Day because she taught environmental science," said former colleague Lori Stabryla. "This is what we're working toward, fulfilling her vision for the courtyard."
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