Wake County school board member dies after brief illness

Wake County school board member Kathy Hartenstine died Sunday evening after a brief illness. She was 68.

Hartenstine died after suffering complications from the flu.

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Hartenstine joined the board in January 2017, filling the vacancy left by the death of Zora Felton.

According to a statement from her family, Hartenstine was a lifelong educator, having spent more than 35 years as a teacher and principal and most recently as a school board member.

"Her love for students and for public schools was apparent to everyone who met her," the family statement said. "We are comforted knowing the tremendous impact we know she had on the lives of young people for nearly two generations."