Elizabeth Kuizenga's Obituary
Elizabeth passed away on Christmas morning after a valiant struggle with cancer that had lasted over seventeen years. Her passing was quick. Elizabeth was a superb mother and grandmother, renown teacher of English as a second language and loving and beloved sister and friend. She was a bright light to those lucky enough to be close to her. Elizabeth was born in Wisconsin and spent many childhood years in Michigan where her parents’ families lived. She had a lifelong love for Lake Michigan and the sugar sand dunes along the water’s edge.
In 1961, Elizabeth moved with her family to the Bay Area and spent the rest of her life here. She earned a bachelor’s degree in linguistics at UC Berkeley and a Master’s Degree from San Jose State University. She taught English as a second language at San Francisco City College and San Francisco Adult School for many years, supporting her family in Berkeley. Her vision was to make the “American dream” accessible to immigrants through education in our common language. Elizabeth wrote a popular book for teaching English called Live Action English with her colleague Contee Seely. The original text has been translated into five languages. The book, as well as software and workbooks, continue to be well loved among teachers of second languages throughout the world.
Elizabeth had many passions in life. Her daughters and grandchildren were her lasting joy, and they adored her. Elizabeth’s pets also benefited from her love of life. She took in two rescue dogs and fostered a number of cats from time to time. Elizabeth continuously pursued spiritual growth, living a kind, loving and meaningful life, which helped her maintain an amazingly positive approach to fighting her illness. Elizabeth’s passion for linguistics led her to advocate for phonetic spelling of English to increase literacy for English speakers and learners. She was an active member of the English Spelling Society, attending demonstrations and writing articles to promote simplifying spelling rules and irregularities. Elizabeth loved music and enjoyed dancing and singing in a group of round singers. Elizabeth stretched her mind by enjoying games with friends and family or on her own.
Elizabeth is survived by her daughters, Rebecca and Tamara Romijn, their husbands Jerry O’Connell and Pete Crooks, her grandchildren Dolly and Charlie O’Connell and Alexandra and Aden Crooks as well as her sisters Hendrika Smith, Francey Liefert and Katrina Bergen.
The family will hold a private memorial service and plans to invite her friends to a celebration of Elizabeth’s life sometime in the coming months. Please contact them at [email protected] for more information.
Donations in Elizabeth’s name will be welcomed at Bee Holistic Cat Rescue and Care (http://www.beeholistic.com/), the English Spelling Society (http://spellingsociety.org/donate) and the Mercy Corps (https://www.mercycorps.org), which is currently assisting immigrants from Syria.
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