Mary Kate Szokoli, 30, Elwood teacher, dies

An Elwood primary school mourned the loss Friday of a first-grade teacher, Mary Kate Szokoli, who died early in the morning following a seizure.

Counselors told parents that Szokoli, 30, a teacher at Harley Avenue Primary School, had a seizure disorder related to her last pregnancy.

Parents of the teacher's 22 students were called at home and given the option of signing children out for the day, or taking them to school where guidance and mental-health workers were on hand to meet them.

"Mrs. Szokoli was a warm, caring and highly regarded member of the Elwood family and she will be deeply missed," said Peter Scordo, the district superintendent. The district announced that a substitute teacher would take over, pending a more permanent arrangement.

Szokoli, of East Northport, was a lifelong area resident and taught in a classroom where she had once sat as a student. On Friday, parents recalled the interest she took in their children and how quickly she responded when they emailed questions or concerns.

"We just had a parent conference with her on Tuesday," said Karen Tyll of East Northport, whose son Nate, 6, is enrolled in the class. "She seemed to know each kid's strengths and weaknesses. She did with my son. She had a plan to push him in reading, because she knew that was one of his strengths."

Szokoli, whose maiden name was Romaine, was born May 13, 1981, at Huntington Hospital. She graduated in 1999 from Elwood's John Glenn High School, where she met her future husband, Brian. She later enrolled at Dowling College in Oakdale, where she earned bachelor's and master's degrees in education.

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Szokoli did her student teaching in the neighboring Commack district, then obtained her first-grade position at Harley Avenue School in 2002. It seemed the perfect job for a woman who loved to dance and sing with nieces and nephews, and to organize games of charades at family get-togethers.

"She really kept us laughing all the time," said her father, Jerry Romaine of East Northport, who owns a contracting firm there. "That's one thing we're really going to miss."

Szokoli leaves two daughters, Camryn, 3, and Riley, 16 months. She also is survived by her mother, Betty, and sister, Erin Moore, of Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. Several in-laws are educators, including her husband's brother, Darren Szokoli, a physical-education teacher and coach at Elwood Middle School.

Visiting is scheduled at Brueggemann Funeral Home, 522 Larkfield Rd., East Northport, on Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. and Tuesday from 2 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. A funeral Mass will be offered at 10 a.m. Wednesday at St. Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church in Greenlawn, followed by burial at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram.