Once in a lifetime, a special teacher comes along and has a positive and tremendous impact for good on the lives of her students. Deanna Sauerbrunn was such a teacher for her students at Taylor Junior High in Mesa, Arizona.

For the record, Mrs. Sauerbrunn taught band at Taylor. Informally, she taught her students to love music and to love life. She had an unparalleled passion for both…and it showed.

She penned the words and music for the new school’s fight song: “Go, fight, win for Taylor Junior High! Go, fight, win today.”

In her band class, she demanded perfection of her students. She was unwavering in her commitment to the musical intent of the composers and the message of their music. Accordingly, each piece was practiced until every note was played for the proper duration and with perfect pitch.

As a flautist herself, she favored the wind section of the band. She also loved to play the French horn and treated the brass section with equal respect. Oh, and she composed a wonderful and stirring percussion cadence for the marching band. In fact, there didn’t seem to be an instrument she could not play.

She wore a dress comprised of the school’s colors for each performance she conducted. Her enthusiasm was contagious and inspired her students as they performed on stage.

When the jazz band took the stage, there was no question about her ability to lead good jazz. The theme song for Hawaii Five-O, a jazz band favorite, always put a smile on her face.

At the ninth-grade football games, she led the pep band with special songs she had composed to spur the team on to victory and liven-up the crowd. One such number was composed from Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Down on the corner.”

When the team would score, the band played the fight song: “Go, fight, win for Taylor Junior High! Go, fight, win today. We’ll fight side-by-side, always go with pride. Always give our best for Taylor Junior High.”

There was something magical about the fight song. Magical because of the way Mrs. Sauerbrunn was and her passion that went into the song. She always believed in giving her best…no matter what.

Sometime in 1984, Mrs. Sauerbrunn was diagnosed with breast cancer. In a matter-of-fact speech to her students, she pledged to go, fight and win her battle with breast cancer. She spoke plainly and with a resolve that resonated throughout the room, and in the hearts of her students.

There would be no surrender to the disease. Her students stood behind her and marched forward with her to win the battle.

When her hair fell out, she wore bandanas to cover her baldness. Most of her bandanas were brown or gold—the school colors. Although in tremendous pain after a mastectomy, she bravely went through with a nighttime band concert. None of her students knew of the unimaginable pain she must have felt as she led the music with her usual zest. It was only later that they would discover her selfless act of that evening concert.

She was bubbly and vivacious, using humor to keep the pain of her disease at bay. Throughout her ordeal, she spoke of a love for life that triumphed physical limitations. In fact, during her illness, she hiked the Grand Canyon!

There were no tearful goodbyes; no regrets; no surrender. She lived each day with resolve to go, fight, win.

Ultimately, she succumbed to the ravages of cancer. But her spirit did not dim with her passing. Her passion for music and life would live on in the lives of her students.

She was laid to rest wearing the same dress and bandana her students had come to know so well. Even in death, she proudly wore school colors and again showed her students how much she cared for them.

As a tribute to this great woman, a local composer wrote a song for her. The song was titled, “Superstition Mountain Overture.” Mrs. Sauerbrunn loved the outdoors and she loved hiking in the Superstition mountains just outside of Phoenix, Arizona.

The piece was performed by Mrs. Sauerbrunn’s band in a concert that served as a tribute to her life and love of music; there wasn’t a dry eye in the auditorium when the song was finished, especially among the band. Mrs. Sauerbrunn’s husband was present for the concert and expressed his appreciation for the band’s performance.

Whenever I hear marching bands play the cadence in a parade, or when Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Down on the corner” plays on the radio, I can’t help but think of Mrs. Deanna Sauerbrunn and the positive impact she had on my life and the lives of the rest of her students. I can still see her in my mind’s eye as she plays the French horn, the trumpet and flute, or as she leads her students for one more concert.

Mrs. Sauerbrunn will forever live on in the hearts and minds of her students. She didn’t just teach her students about playing music- she taught them about a passion for life. Go, fight, win!