Days short of becoming Homer Senior Citizens' new administrator, Traci Boschert, 43, of Anchorage was found dead on the porch of her newly rented Hillside Place residence in Homer.

Homer Police went to Boschert's home about 9:30 a.m. Sept. 11, after the man that found her made a 911 call. Boschert appeared to have been dead for about 12 hours, said Homer Police Chief Mark Robl. Police investigated the scene and determined she died of natural causes. No foul play is suspected and other than her death, nothing else unusual was observed, he said.

Police do not know the cause of death, but Robl said Boschert had previous health problems. Police consulted with the Alaska State Medical Examiner's office and made arrangements with them to have blood and other fluids drawn. An internal autopsy was not done.

Boschert was to have taken over for Fred Lau, who announced earlier this year his plans to retire as HSC's administrator. Lau had been in that position for 12 years, coming to Homer from Seward, where he had been director of Alaska Vocational Technical Center. Prior to that, Lau served as superintendent for the Yukon Koyukuk School District.

In April, HSC's board of directors appointed a four-member recruitment and selection committee to find Lau's replacement. In July, after interviewing two applicants, the position was offered to Boschert. She accepted the contract offered to her with a start date set for Sept. 14.

Lau planned to continue in an advisory capacity until his contract expired Oct. 22.

Boschert's death "has put us in kind of a different situation," Lau said. "It's a real shock."

Until a new replacement is found, Lau will return as HSC's administrator. "We'll start over and move on," he said.