Family works together to cope with car crash, deaths of 3 loved ones

A volunteer at Willow Canyon Elementary, she helped direct the parking lot traffic before school. She's been involved in parent-teacher associations at Jordan High School and Eastmont Middle School. She was active in her ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the youth and children's organizations.

For the past 15 years, the Gustafsons have run Classy Threads Embroidery, and during the 2002 Olympics, they were put in charge of a last-minute embroidery run for the Iranian ski team, which almost didn't appear in the Games.

LuAnne was on her way to a wedding reception when she got the call for help that Feb. 7, and by running her equipment until 3 a.m., she finished the work for the Iranians.

She taught piano lessons to Tara Haight, who visited the family Saturday.

"She's been a mother, a sister and a best friend," Haight said. "There isn't a person in this world that can replace what she is."

Try telling that to Eric Gustafson, the former firefighter for Salt Lake County, who has been there countless times when people needed him but was powerless to help when LuAnne needed him.

"We're living through things that we didn't want to live through," he said. "I have some great kids. It's going to be tough. We're going to work together: Take it hour by hour, day by day, week by week."

The goal now is to make LuAnne proud by accomplishing the things she expected of each of them.

In lieu of flowers, the family is asking that donations be made to a memorial fund for LuAnne at Zions Bank. Donations will help pay for the children's education.

E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com