Her teacher husband was killed by teens. It drove her to become an amazing teacher herself

Bob Mars always thought his wife would make a great teacher. And he was right.

This week, Kris Mars will be celebrated as one of the region’s very best educators. She’s this year’s Crystal Apple Award recipient from the Kennewick School District.

The recognition comes 14 years after Bob, a beloved Benton City teacher and coach, was murdered in a crime that shook the Tri-Cities and devastated his family.

The honor means a great deal to Kris, who went into education in tribute to Bob’s memory and to give back to the community that supported her after his death. And she’s especially devoted to helping kids from tough backgrounds, like the ones who took her husband’s life.

“I’m very honored,” Kris told the Herald. “It’s overwhelming.”

Bob was killed in September 2004.

He stopped by Benton City’s middle school on a Saturday night to drop off game footage after a party celebrating the high school football team’s latest win.

Bob, who taught at the middle school and helped coach the football team, came across Jordan E. Castillo, then 14, and Robert A. Suarez, then 16.

The teens said they were stranded and needed a ride back home to Kennewick. Bob let them into his classroom to use the phone.

Castillo stabbed the teacher, and the two teens ran off, breaking into Bob’s truck and stealing a cell phone and cash.

Bob, who was 44 at the time, died in a school hallway trying to reach help.

Kris was left shocked, reeling. But she couldn’t sink too far, for the sake of their two young sons.

“I remember going home and lying in bed with the covers over my head thinking, ‘You have two little boys you have to raise. Girl, you better pull up your big girl panties and get it together,’ ” she said. “I remember thinking, ‘You have to figure this out for your boys.’ That really was my motivation — how do I put the pieces back together, little by little?”

Kris was working as an appraiser for Franklin County. It was a good job.

But teaching seemed to be calling.

While she raised her boys, Kyler and Kody, she earned an associate’s degree at Columbia Basin College and then went onto Washington State University Tri-Cities.

After graduation, she joined the Kennewick School District, working first as a reading specialist and then a second-grade teacher at Hawthorne Elementary School.

She’s now in her sixth year teaching — and her first in third grade. She’s made her classroom a bright, exhilarating place.

She and her students have special songs and chants. They play games. They have fun. And they learn a lot.

On a recent afternoon, her third-graders showed off impressive math skills.

When they needed a break from all the numbers, Kris turned on colored lights, turned up the music and they all danced.

The kids grinned and giggled and shimmied up a storm.

Craig Miller, Hawthorne’s principal, said Kris is “the kind of teacher everyone deserves growing up.”

Her classroom “is filled with music, movement — all focused on getting the best out of students,” he said. “She really creates magical moments through music, celebrating achievement, chants, singing.”

She earns high praise from her students, too.

“You are the best teacher ever. I never had a teacher as good as you,” one child wrote in a letter hanging on one of the classroom’s walls.

Another girl wrote of how Kris “loves the 49ers” and “likes to be fun at math (and) we all love her.” She finished the note by saying, “I love you.”

Kris will receive her Crystal Apple at a ceremony Thursday at Educational Service District 123 in Pasco. She’s one of nine teachers from the region being honored.

She was quick to acknowledge her colleagues at Hawthorne, saying, “any one of (them) could be receiving this award. It’s an amazing place to teach.”

Kris grew up in the Tri-Cities, moving for a time to California, where she graduated high school.

She and Bob met through friends after she returned to the Tri-Cities. They married and had Kyler and Kody.

Bob also has an older son, named for him, from a previous relationship. He was serving with the Marine Corps in Iraq when his father was killed.

Bob Mars was a fun teacher — unafraid to let a little silliness come through. Kris recalled how he’d sometimes have students sing songs like “I’m a Little Teapot” to earn back lost participation points.

“I think I’ve gleaned some of that,” she said. “I’ve dressed up as a 100-year-old woman on the 100th day of school. I’ve dressed up as bacon. I think he really influenced how I am in my classroom — just knowing that it’s OK to make fun of yourself and be silly. Because then the kids let go of their own insecurities.”

Kris’ teaching philosophy centers on building relationships. She gets to know her students — their challenges, struggles and triumphs inside and outside her classroom walls.

That means she teaches them reading, writing, science and math, but also goes to basketball games. To soccer games. To horse shows.

Sometimes, she makes home visits. She makes sure they have what they need.

For her, teaching isn’t a job, it’s a passion. It’s what she was meant to do.

Kris tries not to dwell on the past or let anger well up when her thoughts turn to Castillo and Suarez, both still behind bars for Bob’s murder.

Castillo, now 28, is at Monroe Correctional Complex, and Suarez, now 30, is at Airway Heights Corrections Center.

“I don’t think about them on a daily or weekly basis. That was my mindset even when the trial was going on. I didn’t want to carry that around. I don’t have any hatred for them,” she said. “I think we all lost.”

Both men will be in their 40s when they’re eligible for release, around the same age Bob was when he was killed. Kris hopes they’re being rehabilitated, that they’ll be productive once back out in the world.

They’re part of the reason she decided to teach at Hawthorne. She wanted to help kids like they once were — to a far better, happier life.

Kris’ Crystal Apple win puts her in the running for state Teacher of the Year. Her sons, in their 20s and in successful careers, will be with her at the ceremony.

She has a good idea what Bob would think of it all.

“I think he’d be really proud — not just of me, but of how the boys and I came together and carried on and honored his memory,” she said. “I think he’d be really proud.”

This story was originally published March 10, 2018 at 3:16 PM with the headline "Her teacher husband was killed by teens. It drove her to become an amazing teacher herself."