Carle Place teacher Rosemary Hunter dies at 56

Young pupils didn’t just pass through Rosemary Hunter’s classroom, family and friends said — they carried her lessons into adulthood.

“We have friends with nieces and nephews who had Mrs. Hunter in kindergarten, and as college students…they said to me, “Oh, I love Mrs. Hunter. That’s how I learned organization and how to study," Hunter's sister-in-law, Teresa Hunter Labo, said.

News of the beloved Carle Place teacher's death last week has sent shock waves through the community, leading to an outpouring of support and thousands of dollars raised for the teenage son she leaves behind.

Hunter, whose career as a teacher spanned more than three decades, spent the past 26 years at Cherry Lane Elementary School, most recently in second grade, school officials and family said. The 56-year-old's death on Sept. 12 sent the school into mourning, with support services still available for those in need.

“She was genuinely loved by students, colleagues and families. I personally admired and respected her greatly as a thinking partner and source of personal inspiration,” Ted Cannone, Carle Place schools superintendent, said in a statement. The district, he added, has been “supporting one another with the humility, kindness and strength that guided Rosemary’s life.”

Grieving community

Hunter's death, which her family said was due to natural causes, also rippled across the Island's baseball networks. Her son, Tim,15, plays in a Massapequa club, family said. 

Maryann Brown, 44, said she met Hunter about eight years ago through travel baseball, where her good humor and kindness touched everyone. 

"She was definitely a natural teacher…even at the baseball fields she was always in her element around children," said Brown, of Wantagh, who helped with online fundraising efforts for Hunter's son, a MacArthur High School student who also lost his father in 2023. More than $110,000 in donations has been raised so far.  

Jenna Cavallaro, 20, has fond memories of Hunter, who was her first grade teacher. 

“She was genuinely a kindhearted person. Whenever we did something good, she had a huge treasure chest in her room and she encouraged us to pick out a prize," said Cavallaro, who now attends the University of Delaware. She said she will always remember Hunter teaching her to be a good person.

Beyond the classroom, Hunter was fiercely dedicated to her son. 

Hunter Labo recalled a family trip this past summer to Ireland and the hectic return to parenting responsibilities, with her sister-in-law ensuring her son make it to a baseball playoff game in the morning before later flying to Buffalo for a New York State championship drill competition. Tim Hunter, a junior volunteer firefighter in Levittown, attended the upstate event as an unofficial member of the Rascals with the South Hempstead volunteer fire department, Hunter Labo said. 

"She was so full of commitment to making sure her son had a life of normalcy, love, support and community,” she said. 

'It just doesn't make sense'

The Hunter family is no stranger to hardship. Hunter's husband, Sean, a social worker, died in 2023 after having a stroke three years earlier. And Tim Hunter's uncle, Joseph Hunter, an FDNY firefighter, was killed during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Hunter Labo said.

The day before her death, Hunter Labo said her sister-in-law honored Joseph during annual observances of the attacks.

Hunter Labo said they began the morning of Sept. 11 at Point Lookout and then attended events at Hofstra University and the South Hempstead firehouse, before wrapping up the evening with a family dinner.

“We had a great day, not a pain or an ache. It just doesn’t make sense,” she said.

Hunter Labo said the family is now trying to push past their grief to make sure Hunter's son continues to have the opportunities his mother was invested in. 

“She made sure her child had everything and made sure that people who were not seen were seen,” Hunter Labo said.