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Died January 7, 2021.
Mulberry High School, Mulberry, FL
Paraprofessional, Secretary
Polk County Public Schools now has at least one fatality from COVID-19.
Maria Hernandez, 55, a longtime paraprofessional and secretary in Mulberry schools, died from the virus on Thursday, according to family and friends.
“We are heartbroken about the loss of Maria,” said Michael Young, principal of Mulberry High School, where Hernandez worked in the guidance office. “She was driven by her passion to help our students and families have better futures. Maria excelled at celebrating student accomplishments and encouraging them to stretch themselves beyond their expectations. Her Instagram handle was ‘Mulberry Momma Bear,’ and it was very fitting for her – she filled in that role for all of our students.”
Young added that, in addition to her work duties, Hernandez could be found tutoring, mentoring, selling tickets for games, chaperoning fieldtrips to colleges — “all without pay. She was motivated by love.”
PCPS officials said they had not heard of any other employee dying of COVID, which would make Hernandez the first known fatality among the district’s 13,000 employees and more than 100,000 students.
“She was a valued member of the Mulberry High School community, and will be dearly missed,” said PCPS spokeswoman Rachel Pleasant. “Our deepest sympathies go to her family, friends and colleagues.”
Her daughter, 29-year-old Blanca Helmick, said Hernandez and her youngest son, 16-year-old Jacob Ritchie, attended a wrestling tournament involving seven Polk County schools in mid-December. After people started getting sick, the school district canceled all athletic events.
Helmick said Jacob got sick first and then her mother began showing symptoms and tested positive.
“She was fine, and then it wasn’t until a few days later, she was starting to feel sick herself and it just got worse after that,” Helmick said.
She held back tears to describe her mother as the most selfless person she has known.
“My mom was very giving — I literally didn’t know anyone like her,” Helmick said. “She not only cared so much about her family, she cared about her community and kids in the high school and kids in the migrant program. When I was little…I don’t know how many house visits I went with her (on) to families that were in need. She would literally drop anything to help someone who needed help, to giving them her last dollar. That was my mom. And she was a woman of God, her faith was so important to her.”
Helmick said her mother was born in Eagle Pass, Texas, and is survived by Helmick, Ritchie and Hernandez’s other four children: Clint Griner, 36, Jamie Waring, 28, Ronald Helmick, 26, and Taylor Helmick, 24.
Dani Higgins, a migrant interventionist teacher for PCPS, worked alongside Hernandez at Kingsford Elementary School and then through their migrant relief work.
“We started a relationship as co-workers and quickly became friends,” said Higgins, who worked tirelessly with Hernandez and Emilia Segovia to help Mulberry’s migrant community with donations of food, clothing, school supplies, tutoring and mentoring. “Maria treated everyone with respect and kindness. She would always do what was necessary to help others if it was in her ability to do so. That often meant staying well beyond her workday to meet a parent who was unable to get off (work) earlier, to make phone calls, translate documents, teach English, or to translate for a meeting. Much of these activities were not paid hours, but she enjoyed helping others.”
Higgins said Hernandez encouraged the migrant students to set goals and to attain them because they are a population that doesn’t have much of what is needed to succeed and is often marginalized by society.
“They could count on her — she cheered them on. She cheered the families on,” Higgins said. “However, she didn’t stop there. She also spent weekends and evenings translating college nights, chaperoning field trips and attending service events with the Adelante Club. She always showed up for the students when they needed her. We attended many graduation ceremonies, family celebrations, quinceaneras, weddings and births. She valued the families that she served, and that made a tremendous impact – on them and on me.”
Those who knew her took to social media on Thursday to express their grief and their condolences to Hernandez’s family, including her children.
Cindy Hill Spear taught third and fifth grades at Kingsford Elementary School and worked with Hernandez. She also taught one of Hernandez’s daughters, Blanca, in the fifth grade.
“Maria Hernandez was such a wonderful woman and a great asset to the Mulberry community,” Spear said in a Facebook private message. “During her stay at Kingsford she was always willing to step up and help wherever she was needed, whether it was helping Hispanic parents during a parent conference or taking extra duties at school. She was such a wonderful parent her children. Mulberry has lost a gem, and she will be sorely missed.”
Helmick has started a GoFund me page to help with funeral costs and to set up a trust for Jacob. It can be found at http://bit.ly/35iboQn.