LEWISTON — A benefit breakfast has been planned for Saturday morning for a Lewiston High School teacher whose husband died in July and whose second child was born Oct. 11.
The breakfast is scheduled for 8 to 10 a.m. at The Green Ladle, 156 East Ave., across from Lewiston High School.
Erica Gosselin is the mother of two girls: Eden, born Oct. 4, 2017, and Joy, born five weeks early. Her husband, Seth, 35, died of a heart attack in his sleep.
“To me this is such an epic tragedy,” said Vicky Wiegman, substance abuse counselor at the high school and one of several breakfast organizers.
The loss of the teacher’s husband has tugged at the hearts of the school community.
“I remember where I was when I heard,” Wiegman said. “We can so readily put ourselves in that situation, like what would I do if I lost the love of my life,” as well as having two babies in diapers.
Wiegman said she and other teachers “were so happy when Erica found her soul mate and married Seth,” followed by the birth of their first child, then “watching their joy finding out they were pregnant again.”
That Seth died so young “is so unfair,” Wiegman said. “Unspeakably sad.”
Seth’s obituary described him as someone who ran his own business, and was an avid outdoorsman who enjoyed hunting, snow sledding and hiking — having traversed 44 of New Hampshire’s 48 4,000-foot mountains.
He was “eagerly anticipating the arrival of their second child,” his obituary said.
Erica Gosselin, who has taught math at the high school for 12 years, “is a giver,” Wiegman said. “She doesn’t ever think of herself.”
High school teacher Donna Olsen said when Seth Gosselin died, Erica’s colleagues asked how they could help. “She said food,” Olsen said. After working all day it was hard for her to go home alone, cook and take care of the baby with another on the way.
Staff created a shared calendar allowing them to take turns making dinner on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. The calendar fills up so fast, Olsen said, that some have complained they haven’t yet been able to make their favorite dish for Gosselin, Olsen said.
They will get their turn, since the plan is to continue the dinner calendar throughout the year.
Students have also helped by volunteering to sell breakfast tickets. Before the new baby was born, several checked in on Gosselin.
“They would sit and cry with her, offer her words of consolation or just let her know how important to them she is,” Olsen said
Students are a big part of what’s helped Gosselin get through each day, according to Olsen.
“She is a born educator,” Olsen said. “We have told her that all of the good that she has put out into the world wants to come back to her now and help her.”
At Saturday’s breakfast, students, staff, administrators and school board members are volunteering to wash dishes, wait on tables and serve food, said Dan Caron, who heads Lewiston Regional Technical Center’s culinary program at The Green Ladle.
He expects a good turnout.
The menu includes made-to-order omelettes, bacon, sausage, corned beef hash, home fries, pancakes, fruit salads and more.
Tickets are $15 and will be sold at the door.
A benefit breakfast will be held from 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Green Ladle for Erica Gosselin and her family. Gosselin’s husband, Seth, died unexpectedly at age 35 in July. Their youngest child was born two weeks ago.
Seth Gosselin, 35, of Auburn with his first child last winter. He died in July after suffering a heart attack. His second child was born earlier this month. A benefit breakfast for his wife, Erica Gosselin, is scheduled for 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday at The Green Ladle at Lewiston Regional Technical Center. (Submitted photo)
A benefit breakfast for the family of Lewiston High School teacher Erica Gosselin, shown above with her husband, Seth, is scheduled for 8 to 10 a.m. Saturday at The Green Ladle at Lewiston Regional Technical Center. Seth Gosselin died in July from a heart attack at age 35. The couple’s second child was born earlier this month. (Submitted photo)
Go and do
What: Benefit breakfast for Lewiston High School teacher Erica Gosselin, whose husband, Seth, died in July. Erica Gosselin delivered the couple’s second child earlier this month.
When: 8-10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 27.
Where: The Green Ladle, across from Lewiston High School.
How much: Tickets are $15, available at the door.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
