Family and friends of a Hastings School Board member are mourning after her sudden death over the weekend.

According to family members, Jenny Wiederholt-Pine died Saturday at the age of 44.

Wiederholt-Pine had served on the board since 2023, and her current term was scheduled to end on Jan. 1, 2029. She and her family are owners of the Wiederholt’s Supper Club in Miesville.

“It’s a tight-knit community, which is why this has hit so hard to everybody,” Jenny’s husband, Mike Pine, said. “It’s just been really tough. It’s not right that three kids are going to grow up without their mother.” 

“She was the light in the room,” said Jenny’s brother Jesse Wiederholt. “Just knew everybody. Friends with everybody. Just always happy and having fun. Just all of a sudden. Nobody got to say goodbye.”

A former classmate of Widerholt-Pine at Hastings High School posted on Facebook that she was an exceptional athlete, teammate, friend and “someone who is one of one.”

Former Super Bowl champion Ben Utecht, who attended Hastings High School, says it’s a “shock and a loss” and that “she was a wonderful woman and leader.”

Wiederholt-Pine leaves behind a husband and three children. Her cause of death hasn’t been released.