I finally found it!
Wilma Holgerson of Lafayette was a friend of the Dyleski family and called the teen's mother "one of the sweetest, caring and loving women you could ever meet."
"She was the kind of single mom you take your hat off to, when you see someone who does everything you should do to raise a kid," Holgerson said.
More on this guy:
Whatever his personality, students said Dyleski wasn't known for trouble. The only incident anyone could recall occurred when a 6th grader commented on Dyleski's appearance. He reportedly punched the boy in the face. School officials reacted by banning trench coats, but Dyleski kept wearing black every day.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/21/DYLESKI.TMP
"She was the kind of single mom you take your hat off to, when you see someone who does everything you should do to raise a kid," Holgerson said.
Acknowledging that I only know little bits and pieces of information, and what I do know is being fed to me by a media that is not always known for accuracy, I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb here by saying that providing a home of a lean-to made out of straw bales may not amount to doing everything that should be done to raise a kid.