Native New Orleanian and a resident of Nashville, TN, Sandra (Sandy) Lynn Streiffer Schwarcz passed away peacefully on April 12, 2021 surrounded by her children. The daughter of the late Simon Lippa Streiffer and the late Florence Streiffer (nee Canovsky), Sandy was a dedicated daughter, sister, mother, grandmother, and friend. Sandy grew up in Metairie, LA and went to Metairie Grammar School, then Isidore Newman School from where she graduated in 1961. She and her family were multigenerational members of Congregation Gates of Prayer. She earned an undergraduate degree at Sophie Newcomb College where she was a member of the Sigma Delta Tau sorority, followed by a master’s degree in Elementary Education from the University of New Orleans.
Sandy was a lifelong educator and lifelong learner. She touched the lives of so many students, initially as a teacher at Ridgewood School in Metairie, then at the New Orleans Jewish Community Center preschool, then for over 20 years at Isidore Newman School in New Orleans where she taught kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grades. After retiring from Newman, she continued to mold future generations by being an active patron of the Jewish Day School in Metairie where she helped to create the initial curriculum of the school and as a tutor in Nashville. Sandy didn’t just help youth but also helped adults, spending her free time volunteering in an adult literacy program. Sandy also believed in making a difference within her communities and was actively involved in the National Council of Jewish Women, serving as Co-President of the New Orleans chapter as well as a member of the Board of Congregation Gates of Prayer.
In addition to all of her giving, Sandy believed in constantly learning. She enjoyed music and the arts and was always interested in going to the symphony or taking in the latest exhibit at the art museum. She was active and engaged with countless friends and mahjong games and was always available to provide a helping hand, cook or bake a dish, or offer a word of encouragement when anyone needed some advice or a just a hug. She also made the meanest chopped chicken liver around. Later in life, Sandy moved to Nashville and became a valued part of the community there and at The Temple - Congregation Ohabai Sholom, where she loved participating in the Thursday women’s Torah Study group. She was known for her warmth and kindness as well as her brilliant and friendly smile that drew others in. She cared for all of the people she met along the way but most of all for her children and grandchildren who meant the world to her. Her memory lives on through them.
Sandy is survived by her two children Andrew Schwarcz (Barbara) of Nashville and Cristi Schwarcz of Arlington, VA and her 5 grandchildren Matthew, Anna, and Jack Schwarcz (Nashville) and Sam and Sophie Hunter (Arlington, VA), her brother Rick Streiffer (Ann) and nephews Micah and Adam (Taiya) and niece Ellie Streiffer (Ben Horwitz), a large extended family of Streiffer, Finger, Pesses and Caron/Canovsky descendants, and many friends. May her memory be a blessing.
Special thanks from her family to the medical team that cared for Sandy for many years including Drs. Jay Kayser, Nancy Peacock and Ira Stein. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to the Nashville Symphony or Jewish Family Service of Nashville http://jfsnashville.org/
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