Mary Miller remembers thinking that if she felt just one-tenth as badly as Claire Buchser looked, she never would have considered coming to work.
But there Claire was in 2005, just months away from succumbing to breast cancer, showing up at San Jose's Presentation High School to administer the school's work scholarship program.
"I've never seen someone handle a life/death situation with as much grace as she did," says Mary, Presentation's principal, about Claire, a long-time math teacher at the school.
Mary was not alone in being inspired by Claire's bravery, and dedication, as she was being treated for cancer.
"From Claire I learned how to have grace and dignity while battling an illness," says Marisa Watts Cozort, Presentation's swim coach.
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It was an example that Marisa did not want her school to ever forget, which is why, not long after Claire's death, Marisa organized the first Swim To Remember event at Presentation. They have been holding it every year since.
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"It just keeps getting bigger and bigger," Marisa says.
This year's Swim To Remember was held on a Thursday earlier in October. Starting at 6am dozens of students filled the Presentation pool, swimming lap after lap after lap. The swimming would go on all day and into the night.
This year's event, a fundraiser for Breast Cancer Connections of Palo Alto, and a scholarship in Claire's name, drew 90 swimmers to the pool By the end of the day they had completed 14,500 laps equaling a distance of 220 miles.
