Services for West Freehold Teacher Tara Hansen Announced

West Freehold Elementary School fourth grade teacher Tara Hansen, 29, died Thursday morning days after giving birth to a son, Brandon.

A viewing will be held at Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home on Sunday, April 3 from noon to 4 p.m. A funeral mass will be held at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, April 4 at St. Rose of Lima Church.

Hansen, whose maiden name was Deaver, began working in the Freehold Township School District in January 2004 as a student teacher and then as a long term substitute in Joseph J. Catena Elementary School, according to Assistant Superintendent Neal Dickstein. She was transferred to West Freehold Elementary School when it opened in September 2004.

The school’s third, fourth and fifth grade students were informed of Hansen’s passing on Thursday by their teachers, and parents and guardians of Hansen’s students were contacted at home. Counseling and child study team members were available to meet with students during the school day Thursday and Friday, Dickstein said.

Hansen’s family has established a trust for the Hansen’s son. Donations can be made through the online tribute page on the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home Web site, or checks can be made to the Brandon Ryan Hansen Trust, c/o Lomurro, Davison, Eastman, & Munoz, 100 Willow Brook Road, Suite 100, Freehold, NJ 07728.

The baby is healthy and surrounded by family at home, said Bob Brightman, Hansen’s uncle.