Constance W. Kieffer's Obituary
Constance “Connie” W. Kieffer, ¬age 66 of Lewes, DE, died Sunday, December 26, 2010 of acute myeloid leukemia. Connie was born in Portland, Oregon on July 31, 1944, daughter of the late Lorenz and Lillian Plog. She attended Cleveland High School in Portland and received her Bachelor’s Degree from Oregon State University, her Master’s from New York University and her doctorate from National-Louis University in Evanston, IL.
A respected educator, Connie began her teaching career at New Trier High School in Winnetka, IL. While spending a year in Nigeria, West Africa with her first husband, the late David B. Welch, she taught kindergarten at the University of Ile-Ife staff school and established a demonstration pre-school for Yoruba speaking children. From 1974 through 2001, Connie was a teacher and administrator at Township District 113 in Highland Park and Deerfield, IL where she chaired the award winning Fine and Applied Arts Division at Highland Park High School and was Summer School Principal of Deerfield High School. She co-authored Peer Coaching: The Learning Team Approach in 2001.
During her tenure at Highland Park, a young Chicago 8th grader phoned Connie stating that there were 1930s New Deal murals in the school painted by Edgar Britton. They were found in the school’s attic. They were cleaned and restored and now reside in the Highland Park High School library. Connie took leadership and became a founding member of the National New Deal Preservation Association, headquartered in Santa Fe, NM. She worked with Chicago Public School teachers to integrate their New Deal murals into lesson plans and wrote numerous articles about arts integration. She continued to research New Deal murals and WPA/deco art and architecture and made numerous presentations on the topic. Connie was also on the Board of Directors of the Center for New Deal Studies at Roosevelt University in Chicago, the Highland Park Historical Society, Highland Park, IL and Jubilate Children’s Choir in Lake Forest, IL. She was on the first Village of Deerfield Fine Arts Council. She was an elder at the First Presbyterian Church in Deerfield, IL.
After retiring from Highland Park, Connie chaired the secondary education program at National-Louis University where she taught for four years before moving to Delaware where she was an associate professor in the doctoral studies program in Innovation and Leadership at Wilmington University. In Lewes, she was a member of Lewes Presbyterian Church, the Lewes Yacht Club and the Rehoboth Art League.
She is survived by her loving husband of 33 years, Edward L. Kieffer of Lewes, DE, her sister Janet S. Plog of Portland, Oregon, her son Jason M. Welch and his wife Amy and grandson Jaxon Connolly Welch of Pleasant Hill, CA, her stepdaughter Kim Brown and her husband Bob, and granddaughters Allison and Katie from Hummelstown, PA and stepdaughter Kathi Davis and her husband, Chris and granddaughter Bailey from Easley, SC.
A Celebration of Constance's life will be held on Monday, January 3, 2011, 3:00 PM at Parsell Funeral Homes and Crematorium, Atkins-Lodge Chapel, 16961 Kings Highway, Lewes, DE 19958. The family will greet friends from 1:00 to 3:00 PM. Interment will be private.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Tunnell Cancer Center, 424 Savannah Road, Lewes, DE 19958.
Please visit Constance’s Life Memorial Webpage and sign her online guestbook at www.parsellfuneralhomes.com
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