Anna Hauser, the 76-year-old woman who later died after collapsing in the University Union, showed others that no one is too old to learn.

It seems fitting that Hauser was on her way to do something so close to her heart in her last moments. Her dedication to personal learning and encouraging others to learn was an underlying mission of her life.

Terence Kokol, her son, describes her story as the classic immigrant story and fulfillment of the American dream.

Born in Salzburg, Austria in 1931, Hauser immigrated to Canada in 1953, where she met her husband, and later moved to Sacramento. She literally came to the continent with $20 in her pocket, Kokol said.

Hauser and her husband Eduard Kokol started a business, Kokol Interiors, when they came to Sacramento.

“Before Wal-Mart sold blinds, my parents had their own home business to sew draperies and make blinds. They really built their own business from the ground up,” Kokol said.

More than anything, Hauser inspired her love of the outdoors in her children and those around her. She would go camping in Yosemite every year. Her love of nature came from growing up in the Alps, Kokol said.

“She could yodel a little bit and always made us watch ‘The Sound of Music’ every year.” She kept a pair of hiking poles in the trunk of her car so that she was always ready to go, said Tanja Bittle, Hauser’s daughter.

Recently Hauser coordinated local walking groups for the Renaissance Society. She loved organizing hikes and owned her own camping gear. She was also involved with the Sierra Club for about 20 years.

The music of Mozart was a favorite of hers. And she always looked forward to working as a volunteer on Memorial Day weekend for the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee.

The weekend following her death, Hauser would have turned 77. Her family said they were at rest with the knowledge that she lived a full and active life.

“Anna was always a learner; she even had a computer at 76. She was also planning a trip to China,” Kokol said. She proved it’s never too late to go back to college and learn.

Hauser was passionate about cultural diversity. The interest in other cultures came naturally to her because of her immigration experience. Bittle said that when her dad developed Alzheimer’s disease seven years ago, Hauser would speak German to him and he would “come alive.”

“Anything that she could do to help, she was the first one there.”

Bittle said she wanted to thank the witnesses who helped her mother.

“The students at Sac State are to be commended for their heroic efforts in trying their best to save my mother’s life while waiting for the paramedics to arrive. I know she is just as grateful to you as I am for your good will and efforts.”

Hauser lives on in the love of her siblings, children and seven grandchildren who she adored.

Hauser’s family asks that flower donations be made to the Renaissance Society, which continued her passion for learning.

The Renaissance Society at Sac State provides an environment of learning and discovery after retirement. It is “a revival of intellectual or artistic achievement and vigor,” according its Web site.

Membership is open to all seniors interested in participatory learning. A college degree is not required, “just the wisdom that comes with experience and the curiosity that sustains interest in learning,” according to the site.

Seminars are held Fridays in Sac State classrooms and topics are proposed by members. There are no formal teachers.

On Feb. 8, Hauser, a member of the Sac State Renaissance Society, was on her way to meet fellow members for lunch before their afternoon class on researching Greek history.While in the Union, Hauser appeared to lose consciousness after witnesses said she leaned against a wall in pain.

“She went up to the (Rec Sports) desk complaining of chest pain,” said Jean Bonnet, senior psychology major.

Two women attempted CPR on her intermittently and paramedics arrived shortly afterward, fitting her to an oxygen feed.

“When (the officers) got there, she was on the ground; there were a couple of bystanders doing CPR on her. Our officers brought an automated aid defibulator,” Lt. Daniel Davis said.

Hauser did not have a pulse when officers arrived on the scene but did when she left, Davis said.

Hauser mentioned she had chest pains to a friend that morning, Bittle said. There was no autopsy, but her collapse was assumed to be caused by a heart attack, Bittle said.Sacramento Metro Fire Department could not be reached for comment.

Chloe Daley can be reached at [email protected].