Marquette teacher is killed during a hit-and-run crash

TULSA - A teacher's death shakes a community of students, past and present.

60 year-old Susan Mamary was killed after a hit and run crash on Sunday     

The other driver is expected to be arrested for suspicion of DUI and leaving the scene of a crime.

School was closed at Marquette Catholic School on Monday, to honor Mamary, the 18-year teaching veteran of Marquette.
    
Students and staff say she was the type of teacher who made a lasting impression.

"I keep thinking I'm going to wake up, that it's only a dream," said Marquette principal Pete Theban.
    
Theban knew Mamary for more than 30 years.

"She loved kids, there was a sense of fun about her and a gleam in her eye and you could sense her enthusiasm for what she was doing," Theban said.

Mamary was turning from 51st Street to Hudson Pl. Sunday afternoon when another car crashed into her.

The other driver, Marquita Littlebear, ran from the scene, according to police.

Mamary died at the hospital.

"She impacted every single one of our lives so much and you could tell she loved every single one of us," said former student John Connor.

Connor, like most of the graduates from Marquette Catholic School, is now at Bishop Kelley High School.

Many were remembering the teacher who changed their life in some way, he said Monday.

"Just her class and the way she was and the way her smile brightened up the room every day and how she made her class so much fun will stick in my mind forever," Connor said.

It has been nine years since Connor and his friend Blake Gerow were in Mrs. Mamary's third grade class, but they still say she was their favorite.

"We really formed a relationship that wasn't just while I was in third grade with her but as I continued my years throughout Marquette," Gerow said.

Tuesday students and staff at Marquette will have a special all school rosary in honor of their beloved teacher.

"She wouldn't want any kind of acknowledgment about what she was doing, she did what she loved and didn't need any special kudos because this is what she was supposed to do and called to do," Theban said.

School will be in session as scheduled on Tuesday. There will be counselors and support available for students and staff.