Sean Castle, a music teacher at San Rafael High School, died unexpectedly Monday from an apparent heart attack, according to his family. He was 43.
“Sean spent his entire 20-year career in education at San Rafael High School, where he shared the joys of music with thousands of students, staff and families,” Glenn Dennis, the school principal, wrote in a letter to students, parents and staff.
“His impact on the community extends far beyond the award-winning music program he helped create,” Dennis said. “Sean inspired his students with his dedication, care and his charisma.”
Mr. Castle, who lived in Sausalito with his fiancee Nicole Dube, had no history of heart issues or other medical problems, his father Kent Castle said Tuesday.
However, Mr. Castle had been feeling under the weather since last Thursday, he said. Doctors had recommended he get a COVID-19 test, which came back negative.
On Monday morning, he was again not feeling well, his father said. His fiancee called 911, but Mr. Castle died before paramedics could arrive.
“It was totally unexpected,” his father said. “It’s a crushing blow.”
Anne Lerner, another San Rafael High School music teacher, said Mr. Castle “never had a bad word to say about anyone” and was completely dedicated to the school and its students, she said.
“He was a truly good person,” she said. “I really loved him. He was like a younger brother to me.”
Mr. Castle’s father said music and San Rafael High School were his son’s twin passions. After attending the high school, Mr. Castle went to the University of California, Los Angeles, where he studied music.
In his junior year, he announced he wanted to be a music teacher at San Rafael High School, his father said. His son’s former mentor at the school, Mark Peabody — now an administrator at Marin School of the Arts at Novato High School — hired him right out of UCLA.
“Music was his oxygen,” Kent Castle said.
According to Dennis, Mr. Castle helped create and then ran the school’s jazz band and a wind ensemble that played at homecomings and other events. He also organized the school’s jazz choir and a percussion class called Steel Pans.
Lerner said the period of remote teaching during the pandemic was especially hard on music teachers. Mr. Castle, in particular, was frustrated by not being able to see his students in person, she said.
“He felt so responsible for the music department,” Lerner said. “He took his mission very seriously.”
The school is offering counseling services. It also will schedule a tribute to Mr. Castle, probably in August when scores of his former students would be able to attend, Dennis said.
“Since we are in the midst of summer, it is heartbreaking to share this news over email instead of gathering together to process it as a school community,” Dennis said.
The coroner’s division of the Marin County Sheriff’s Office is investigating Mr. Castle’s death. Chief Deputy Roger Fielding said an initial forensic examination was conducTed Tuesday and toxicology test results are pending.
Although the case is still active, the investigation has not found anything suspicious, Fielding said.
Kent Castle, a Terra Linda resident, said services will be scheduled in Marin sometime soon.
In addition to his father and fiancee, Mr. Castle is survived by his mother Kris Castle and his brother Darren, a San Rafael resident.