Sheila Anne Leyden Gavin

I am so sorry for your loss. I remember Mrs. Gavin always being clever and laughing. Always joyful. She touched so many lives and will be missed.

Sheila was our 1st cousin. Her Mom, Aunt Anne and our Mother Kathleen were sisters and grew up in Great Neck, LI, NY. I was born in Trenton NJ, and Sheila was my Godmother. I loved hearing these messages about her being a great teacher and neighbor. I also have a great love of Literature and an English degree. Margaret McCann , Waterford Ct

Sheila Gavin was my first mentor. If she had been nothing more than the outstanding English teacher that she was, it would have been enough. Her passion for literature was infectious. She performed Chaucer. I can still hear her reciting "Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow..." from Macbeth. She had us write Shakespearean sonnets - iambic pentameter!! - and speak them to the class. Sheila Gavin was the first person to really show me the inseparability of the written word and the spoken...

She always said, "Put the diamond on the black velvet." She was special. Favorite teacher doesn't begin to accurately describe Mrs. Gavin. She was able to immersed teenagers in Shakespeare. Although she was not the easiest, she was the best teacher and my favorite. She has wings now for sure.

Mrs. Gavin was my favorite teacher ever. Her sense of humor, her love for her craft, her empathy and compassion and the way she just "got" me... it was the same for so many of us. She could absorb your joys and your heartbreaks and your doubts and your fears and leave you feeling better about yourself and the world. Knowing her was lifechanging. The world is a poorer place for her having left it.

I was lucky enough to have her as a teacher at Pennsbury High School in 1965/66. The class was Public Speaking and Dramatics, She had a commanding presence with perfect posture and she backed it up with a quick wit. She entered a room with style and strength . Miss Leyden was never stuck for an answer. I taught for 35 years and I have used many of the tools I learned in her class throughout my life. I recollect her jokes, her positive comments, and I strongly recall any criticisms that she...

I´m struggling to write this because I want to do my best for you Ms. Gavin... you told me to never end a sentence with a but, so I will go on which you might say was a little bit of a run on sentence but I won´t end with a but so I´ll thank you for inspiring me, never letting me forget you and for having a profound impact on my life. Thank you for believing in me, I wish you could see me now. I´ll never forget you. Thank you.

Sheila will be missed. Smart women with a good sense of humor. Great neighbor.

Every student deserves a teacher like Mrs. Gavin. She was the best of the best. She taught us how to think and seek meaning within and through literature. I can still see “cogito, ergo sum” written on the whiteboard. She made each of her students feel important and challenged us to take risks. I remember sitting in her class on 9/11; she shared the news with us when others were hesitant, a testament to the mutual respect and concern she had for students. Her brilliance and wry humor will not...