Marla Sue Zongker

Over the past 50 years, Sue taught hundreds of students to read, write and enjoy the arts in classrooms spanning central Kansas, northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. She took immense pride in making education fun and engaging by integrating visual and performing arts with literacy. Her career had a significant impact for children in both rural and urban public schools.

Sue was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas, in 1952, the oldest of three children of James S. Lichtenberger and Jacque Lu Rippee. Sue was a proud graduate of Wichita North High School where she played violin, and she went on to earn bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education at Wichita State University, along with her certification in reading instruction. Students from her early years of teaching in Turon, Kansas, fondly recall her as their second-grade teacher who brought her guitar into the classroom to sing during lessons.

Sue married Steve Zongker after college and joined him in teaching and farming. They had one son and later parted ways. Sue spent most of her life as a devoted single mom who raised her son, Brett, in Hutchinson, Kansas, and spent years leading programs for Cub Scouts and 4-H, skiing, coaching baseball, and singing in church choirs.

In her late 40s, Sue pursued new adventures with her son in the Washington, D.C., area where she taught and tutored reading and art classes in D.C. Public Schools and more recently in northern Virginia in Fairfax and Prince William County schools. Her passion for education was renewed by studying education strategies with fellow teachers at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, the Smithsonian Institution and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

Sue was perhaps at her brightest with the birth of her beloved granddaughter, Linden, who she bonded closely with over the past seven years. They loved reading and making art – and going to the beach and pool together. “Grammy Sue” poured everything into her granddaughter, teaching her to talk, draw, paint and read. Her family will be forever grateful for her love and support.

Sue is preceded in death by her parents, Jim and Jacque, and her brother, Tim. She is survived by brother Mike Lichtenberger (Henrietta Cole) of Wichita, Kansas, son Brett Zongker (Brian Westley) of Washington, D.C., and granddaughter Linden Westley Zongker of Washington, D.C.

A celebration of Sue’s life will be held Saturday, Aug. 15 at 2 p.m. at the National United Methodist Church, 3401 Nebraska Ave. NW in Washington, D.C., where she will be interred. Sue was a faithful member of the church for the past 26 years and sang for many years in the Dayspring Choir.

In lieu of flowers, join the family in donating in Sue’s honor to the Marla Sue Zongker Memorial for Teaching and Literacy at Wichita State University, c/o WSU Foundation, 1845 Fairmount, Campus Box 2, Wichita, KS, 67260-0002

https://foundation.wichita.edu/memorials-honors/