Anna Marie Amber

1931 - 2022

Anna Marie Amber, (Anne), was born Anna Marie Marsala in New York City, NY on March 3, 1931, and went to heaven on December 16, 2022 at age 91.  She was tired and ready to meet Jesus.  Anna was preceded in death by parents Josephine and Paul Marsala, sister Antoinette Marsala, brother Anthony Marsala, and sister- in- law Bernice Marsala.  She is survived by daughter Celeste Amber Montague (Terry), son Michael Amber, grandson Jordan Amber, nephews Paul and Joseph (Lori) Marsala, and numerous cousins.  She grew up in Brooklyn and the Bronx, in the golden age of Broadway.  The youngest of three children, Anna played on the sidewalks of New York - roller skating, ice-skating,  riding the subway with friends, cousins, and her beloved extended Italian family.  Italian food was central to life, and remained a staple on her dinner table as a favorite cuisine.  She went on fabulous dates in her young adult years…dinner, a Broadway show, dancing afterward, always elegantly dressed like a movie star - the prettiest girl in the room, a typical night out for those in her generation!  She graduated from Hunter College in N.Y.C. with a B.A. and an M.A. in Elementary School education, and later earned 45 units beyond her M.A. at the University of Arizona, a virtual Ph.D.  Anna loved working with children and taught primary grades in N.Y.C., France, Colorado, California, and Arizona, a career of 40 years.  Students regularly wrote her love notes, telling her she was their favorite teacher of all time.  Everyone fell in love with Mrs. Amber.  She impacted thousands of lives with her passion for reading, the arts, and a loving interest in the welfare of each student.  She often brought her tap shoes to school and would delight her students with tap dance routines. She also directed school-wide musical productions.  Along with music, art, theater, tap and ballroom dancing, she enjoyed the Romance Languages - Italian, Spanish, and French.  Her fellow teachers loved her, too, continuing to meet for lunch for many years as a group.  She often maintained contact with both former students and student-teachers through calls, cards, and personal letters for years after their school tenure.  Anna thoroughly enjoyed raising her two children, and was a faithful, hard-working single mother who knew how to have fun!  Elegant, joyful, generous, organized, loving, humble…these are just a few character qualities that she embodied.  One of her greatest pleasures was watching her daughter and son perform in plays and musicals in High School, College, the Southern Arizona Light Opera Company (SALOC), and church.  Anna's retirement years included caring for her parents and siblings in their older age, reading, of course dancing…she served as vice president of the "Let's Dance" ballroom club, traveling and socializing with her many friends and colleagues.  She continued to tutor students in reading, and volunteered as an usher at the Temple of Music and Art.  She loved joking around and making puns, and was always inviting people over for little living room parties with snacks and drinks, making lively conversation, and taking everyone's pictures with her flash camera which was always at the ready.  Anna taught her children to maintain a sense of humor throughout the twists and turns of life's adventures, a lesson she modeled every day of her life.  She was devoted to God and trusted Him in every circumstance.  She was the joy of our lives and the heart of our family.  We miss her terribly, but we are comforted knowing that we will see her again in heaven.  A viewing and scripture service will be held at Adair Funeral Home on Sunday, January 8th from 2-4pm, 1050 N. Dodge Blvd., Tucson, AZ  85716.  A funeral Mass will take place Monday, January 9th at 10am at St. Cyril's Church, 4725 E. Pima St., Tucson, AZ  85712, followed by a gravesite ceremony at South Lawn Cemetery, 5401 S. Park Ave. Tucson, AZ  85706.  There will be a Celebration of Life reception immediately following at South Lawn.  Please join us!  In lieu of flowers, you may send donations to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Anna's favorite charity.