Nancy Sue Pessin Sundberg

Nancy passed away on Oct 4, 2021 in Pittsford, New York where she was a resident. She was a well-respected teacher and modest, but inspirational woman who cast a very bright light. In 1969, Nancy married classmate Michael Sundberg. Nancy earned her BA in English and Elementary Education from Albion College in Michigan and her MA degree in special education from the University of California at San Francisco. She had experience teaching students in both public and private schools at all grade levels in three states and in Liberia, Africa. She was a natural teacher of children and adults alike, passionate about education with excellence, and taught for over 45 years, 41 of them in the City School District of Rochester, New York. She was named Rochester City School District Teacher of the year in 1982-1983 and received certification by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards in 2005. With her gentle, supportive style, inexhaustible work ethic and appreciation for rigor, she set the bar for excellence. She championed a technique called "lesson study" that focuses on the formal analysis of teaching outcomes from well documented lesson plans to continually adapt lessons to improve student learning. Nancy was a lover of all things literary. She adapted and directed many Shakespearian plays for students of mixed ability levels to perform. And she actively encouraged student writing, including initiating and running student book publishing projects. She was a tireless proponent for expanding the mind through reading. Her generosity was boundless, purchasing countless books for classroom and school libraries as well as book clubs. The Children's School of Rochester has recently dedicated their library, "The Nancy Sundberg Library at CSR" in her honor. She also enthusiastically supported participation in the Heifer International charity's "Read to Feed" program for many years. Nancy was deeply beloved by her family and her colleagues, as well as thousands of students and their parents. She will be remembered as an extraordinary educator who had influence well beyond the confines of her classrooms, a gracious hostess, a peace ambassador, a wonderful wife, and a deep lover of all. She loved learning and celebrated the achievements, great and small, of every 'student', whether formally assigned or casually encountered. The impact she had on our lives will be cherished, a generous gift that will live on in our hearts. She worked hard to make a difference and she did! Survivors included her husband of 52 years, Michael; a brother, David, of Tucson, AZ; God children, Ashley Samuelson and Michael Chadsey, their children; and numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Information from Miller Funeral and Cremation Services, Inc., Rochester, New York online on December 22, 2021; and ancestry.com