Susanne Lelyveld Henderson Wittenberg

Susanne Lelyveld Henderson Wittenberg died peacefully under hospice care on January 12, 2025.

She was born November 21, 1945 to Mark and Addie Lelyveld of Rockland, Mass. Sue was a fourth generation Rockland resident.

After graduating from Rockland High School in 1963 she attended Lesley College where she earned a BA in Education in 1967. It was there that she met her first husband, Richard Henderson of Bulawayo, Rhodesia. Richard was a graduate student at the nearby MIT Sloan Business School.

The couple moved to Johannesburg, South Africa where Richard started a medical IT business and Sue started her own nursery school. She also worked part-time for a local doctor. Sue and Richard had two children there, David and Michelle. Six years after moving to South Africa Sue left Richard and returned with the children to her parent’s home on Butternut Lane in Rockland. Soon after, she married her second husband, Paul Wittenberg. Sue and Paul moved to Myrtle Street, Rockland with Michelle and David. The couple divorced 10 years later.

Sue taught Special Education in Quincy for 3 years before becoming a Title I Reading Specialist in the Rockland school system. She was also the Director of Kathy Corrigan’s Gymnastic Nursery School. Over time she was promoted to Reading Coordinator, Title I Director and was recognized several times by the state of Massachusetts for her outstanding special education program. During this period, she also earned a Masters in Education and completed additional specialized coursework at Bridgewater State College.

Outside of the classroom, Sue was President of the Rockland Citizens Scholarship Foundation for many years. She was on the Board of the Rockland Savings Bank, where she participated in their Master Plan Committee. She was a founding member of the South Shore Hospital Patient and Family Centered Care program, which evolved into the Patient and Family Advisory Committee. And she was an active member of Congregation Beth Jacob Synagogue in Plymouth.

After retiring from teaching, Sue enjoyed cooking, gardening,spending time with her grandchildren, and social events around town. She also began volunteering at the Rockland Public Library where she was able to do two things she loved – give her time to helping others in the community, and getting to read the latest book releases.

Susanne Wittenberg is survived by her children; daughter Michelle Wittenberg Chachus and her husband ConstantineChachus and their three children Abigail, Rachel, and Mark of Lowell, MA., son David Wittenberg and his wife Jennifer Hamilton Wittenberg of Las Vegas, NV, as well as her brothers Philip Lelyveld of Culver City, CA, and Steven Lelyveld of Chicago, IL., plus many neighbors, friends, and relatives.

The Susanne Lelyveld Wittenberg Education Scholarship for graduating Rockland High School students is being set up in her honor. If you were a student, coworker, or friend of Susanne or her family, and would like to honor her memory and her work as a teacher and fundraiser, please make out a check for your tax-deductible contribution to Town of Rockland and mail it to Rockland High School, 52 McKinley Way, Rockland HS. Rockland, MA 02370, Attn. Carla Dunn(Wittenberg Scholarship)