Coronavirus In Minnesota: STEM Leader Anne Yuska Remembered After Battling COVID-19
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- One of the more recent victims of COVID-19 was a beloved leader in science education at the U of M.
Anne Yuska started feeling bad in early March with what she thought was a sinus infection.
On April 30, she died at Bethesda Hospital from COVID-19. The 63-year-old is now being remembered for her knowledge and her heart.
It's a love story that began three decades between to museum coworkers.
"She wanted to bicycle commute, so she asked me if I would chaperone her, so that was kind of the beginning of our relationship," Anne's husband, Tom Yuska said.
A relationship that would flourish -- raising two children and building careers.
Anne Yuska worked at the Science Museum of Minnesota, St. Catherine University, and most recently the University of Minnesota -- getting more people, especially women of color, into the STEM field.
"That thread of like being very consistent around issues around inclusivity and equity, ensuring that we have diverse voices and perspectives in the STEM fields was what her life work was really about," said Simone Gbolo, Anne's colleague and friend.
Gbolo has been reflecting on her friend's life and how it ended.
"It's a little mind baffling for me. You know, it's just something I'm going to constantly think about," said Gbolo.
Anne had beaten cancer twice and was feeling strong when she started feeling respiratory symptoms in early March. She was then diagnosed with pneumonia and things got worse, she tested positive for COVID and ended up at Bethesda.
"At that point, we knew there wasn't any hope for survival, so it was just wonderful to be able to go and see her," Tom Yuska said. "She was at the point where she was still in a coma but still somewhat responsive. I mean, we could tell that she was responding to our voice and our looks, so it was great to have that."
And even though her life is gone, her work and her love live on.
"This idea of living with gusto, and taking advantage of what life has to offer, if it's good or bad, you know, how do you make the best of it," Tom Yuska said. "To me, I think that sums up a lot of what Anne was about."