Chaparral High School Mourns Teacher, 52

Darren Thomas, 52, died Sunday morning after collapsing while riding his bicycle in the 40000 block of Calle Medusa in Temecula, according to a report released Monday by the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office.

Thomas, a Temecula resident, was taken to Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta, where he died of natural causes at 9:39 a.m. Sunday, according to the report.

The Social Science and History teacher was well-liked among peers and students at Chaparral, where he had taught since 1998, according to Melanie Norton, spokeswoman for the Temecula Valley Unified School District.

"We are very saddened to hear the news of Mr. Thomas' passing. For the past 15 years, he has been a esteemed member of the Chaparral teaching staff," Norton said in a written statement. "He was respected and admired by colleagues and students alike. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Carolyn and the entire Thomas family."

His wife, Carolyn, is a teacher at Rancho Elementary, which is also in the Temecula Valley Unified School District.

A remembrance vigil for Thomas is planned at Chaparral's Puma Stadium at 7 p.m. Thursday, June 27.

"While the vigil will be a time for contemplation and remembrance, Mrs. Thomas requested that it also be a time for laughter and celebration," Norton said.

A memorial service is tentatively set for July 6 at Chaparral High School, according to Norton, who says that information will be posted on the district website and Facebook page once it is confirmed.

On Thomas' Chaparral High School Web page, he listed a quote from late U.S. President Woodrow Wilson:

"A nation which does not remember what it was yesterday does not know what it is today. We are trying to do a futile thing if we do not know where we came from or what we have been about."