'She Loved Life': Malvern Teacher Who Died After Childbirth Remembered

GREAT VALLEY, PA —Lunchtime at the Charlestown Elementary School in the Great Valley was not the same on Thursday afternoon without first-grade teacher Jennifer Krasna’s smile lifting everyone’s spirits.

Krasna was a bright light in her work family who ate lunch together every day, sharing their lives both in and out of the classroom with each other, according to her colleagues.

“She was an extremely positive person,” Marisa Marchese, a fellow teacher said, sharing memories of the beloved teacher who unexpectedly passed away on Nov. 28, days after giving birth to her second child, Cade. “Even on my bad days, she made me smile. We are a family.”

Principal Chris Pickell and several of Krasna’s school friends gathered in a school conference room Thursday, sharing happy memories of their beloved colleague, who died at age 30.

The school family said Krasna had a natural ability to lift people’s spirits and make everyone she met feel important.

“She had a beautiful smile,” Pickell said. “Charlestown Elementary School is a special place, and she fit in well here.”

Krasna is survived by her husband Jesse, and sons, Ty, 2, and the newborn. She grew up in Morrisville, Bucks County, and graduated from Pennsbury High School in 2011, where she was a member of the 2009 SOL National Division Championship girls volleyball team.

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Krasna earned a bachelor’s degree in early grades education at West Chester University Honors College and a master’s degree in literacy at Cabrini College, Radnor Township. She taught first and second grade for eight years, developing close relationships with students, parents and colleagues.

Passion For teaching

Krasna’s school friends held back tears Thursday when sharing the passion she had for teaching and for being a friend and mentor.

They recalled Krasna's love of the Philadelphia Eagles, country music and Taylor Swift. She also loved watching her husband’s basketball team play. Jesse is a boys basketball coach at Council Rock North High School in Newtown, Bucks County.

They said she was a teacher everyone emulated.

“People looked up to her,” Jessica Paraschak, a kindergarten teacher, said.

Katy Uhrich, a school counselor, described Krasna as “unflappable.”

“She lived in the moment,” Uhrich said.

Donna Gronwaldt, a first-grade teacher who worked with Krasna when she started teaching, said their friendship made her a better teacher.

“She was the most genuine person you would ever want to know,” Gronwaldt said.

All present said Krasna was loved and had a way of knowing what her students needed.

“She loved life,” Marchese said.

Krasna’s service is at noon Sunday, Dec. 4 at James J. Dougherty Funeral Home, 2200 Trenton Road, Levittown, PA 19056. Her obituary is available here.

Her friends set up a GoFundMe page here to help her family raise money for the funeral. As of Thursday afternoon, the campaign has raised more than $220,000.