Sarah Jeannette Raphel Tressler, a retired Baltimore County reading teacher, died of cancer Nov. 16 at the Presbyterian Home of Maryland. She was 87 and lived in Parkville and Ocean City.
Born Sarah Jeannette Raphel in Cumberland, she earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education from Towson University and a master's degree from the Johns Hopkins University.
She began teaching in 1963 at the Immaculate Heart of Mary School in Baynesville. She later joined the Baltimore County school system and taught at Back River and McCormick elementary schools and at Pine Grove Middle School. She retired about 25 years ago.
She moved to Ocean City and began volunteering at the Knights of Columbus auxiliary, the Lioness Club, Kidzline, Parent Network, Play it Safe and the St. Joseph House.
"Her commitment to helping others, her organizational skills, and her determination and hard work had a remarkably positive impact," said a son, John Joseph Raphel Tressler of Parkville.
Mrs. Tressler received numerous awards, including the key to Ocean City.
Mrs. Tressler had been a member, lector and Eucharistic minister at St. Ann's Roman Catholic Church in Bethany Beach, Del.
A Mass was offered Saturday at St. Isaac Jogues Roman Catholic Church in Parkville.
In addition to her son, survivors include another son, William Victor Tressler of Manchester, Conn.; a daughter, Mary Anne Shea of Arlington, Va.; a brother, Eugene Victor Raphel of Rockville; a sister, Mary A. Bailey of Rockville; and four grandchildren. Her husband of 54 years, Clarence Oscar "Bill" Tressler, a J.E. Smith Co. manager, died in 2000.