Friday, April 28, 2023
When I think of Nancy, I think of a woman who was passionate about everything she did. As Curriculum Director of Niles Community Schools, she was my boss and my friend. Nancy loved children. She firmly believed that a quality education and a strong curriculum could only be achieved if the teachers who worked directly with the children were involved. Therefore, the teachers always worked with us to develop the curriculum and to select the materials that would help them deliver the curriculum. So many great programs were developed under her leadership. She also recognized the need to continually educate the teachers in varying instructional approaches to match the learning styles of students, differentiating instruction, and consistently scaling up implementation of best-practice instructional strategies and approaches in all classrooms and across all content areas. There is no doubt she was an exceptional leader, and I am grateful that I could be a part of these important achievements.
Nancy belonged to DKG, an honor society of women educators. All of us in this organization had such fun working on projects to raise money for classroom teachers. I can still hear her laugh, as we worked our way through a project. Her beautiful quilting projects always received high bids. All of us in this group enjoyed Nancy’s friendship and love…wonderful dinners together and great conversations. We could always turn to her for advice.
When our youngest child was sick with a rare neurological disorder, Nancy and Earl came to our rescue. They would lovingly have our daughter over their house to entertain her and give us a break from the stress. My husband and I will never forget that kindness and our daughter adored Nancy and Earl.
I will miss Nancy, but she will always be in my heart with very fond memories.
