Colleagues mourn death of Dinuba High School teacher

DINUBA, Calif. (KFSN) -- Colleagues of a Dinuba High School teacher who died suddenly on Friday are remembering their friend and co-worker.

Veteran biology teacher Vince Costi, 41, died from complications of a brain tumor Friday. Family members say he was diagnosed only two days before his passing.

Dinuba High School administrators are providing counseling resources for students and faculty members. The school principal says fellow teachers are having the toughest time through this loss.

Biology teacher Rick Dutra worked side by side for 12 years with fellow science teacher Vince Costi. The two teachers ran the hiking group and often spent time together outdoors. Dutra says Costi started feeling sick last week, but no one thought anything of it.

"It was just like typical things, you might feel ill or you might think it's allergies, the flu or something like that, and that's kind of I guess what he thought was happening," said Dutra.

Costi died from complications of a brain tumor Friday -- two days after he was diagnosed. Now, his friend and carpool buddy is trying to honor Costi's life.

"He went outside of the school time to visit students that were maybe having difficulty and just to be there for them," said Dutra.

Dinuba High School Principal Chris Meyer says students are leaving notes for the late teacher and have access to a grief center if they need it.

"He was always a teacher that students would recognize on senior night as a teacher that made a difference in their lives, so he really did a great job of connecting with kids," said Meyer.

An outpour of past and present students have taken to Facebook to share their memories of the biology teacher. The school plans on having a memorial service to remember Mr. Costi.

In the interim, a teacher at Dinuba High School is taking over the biology class to make the transition for the students as seamless as possible.