Marc Lion touched the hearts of many Ariela Behar
M
Téa Sklar
arc Lion, beloved NPHS English teacher, was known by students, family and coworkers alike for his humor and his loving nature. He loved teaching, playing the bass, the color blue, his friends and his wife, Sandra. On Monday, April 4, Marc Lion passed away after battling cancer for two years.
Teaching Sandra Lion, Marc Lion’s wife who knew him for over 43 years, remembers her husband as being a compassionate, generous person. “He was very loving. He was very caring. He was selfless. He was a good teacher. [He had a] really good heart and he always wanted to give back. He got a lot from students he could teach…. He took on any challenge and he conquered it,” she said. On the subject of teaching, Sandra Lion recalls her husband’s unbridled passion for educating his students. “He just, he wanted to make sure that the light bulbs went on and he also wanted to give them the confidence and the support, you know, that they needed. If, you know, to accomplish what they were capable of accomplishing but didn’t know it. He just wanted to build like better, better little human beings to graduate,” Sandra Lion said. Christine Hodson, coworker of Marc Lion and fellow English teacher at NPHS, admired his thoughtful ways of teaching. “When I was Michelle Saremi/Prowler
his department chair, I had the opportunity and pleasure to go into his classroom and observe his teaching. When you’d walk in there, it would be quiet because the students were working except for the sound, some soft jazz playing,” Hodson said. Marc Lion was always looking for ways to help his students grow and learn. “Mr. Lion was really a conceptual teacher. He never stopped thinking about how he wanted to evolve some practice in the classroom… He had extreme compassion for the people around him,” Hodson said.
Music Marc Lion’s passion for music was a part of him that was hard to miss, especially for Sandra Lion. “Well, we love the Motown, you know the Motown music and we love like R&B. Like, you know, just the bands that were good dancing music…Marc would be a better dancer because he knew everything about
Parker Bohl/Prowler
music. That was his passion too, his music,” Sandra Lion said. Michelle Saremi, friend and coworker of Lion, specifically loved their musical connection. “I think most importantly the thing that we really shared was our love of music. I was more classically trained and he was kind of like self-taught. He had a love for all music but he really loved classic rock, and he exposed me to cool songs and new bands or bands that I have never heard of before,” Saremi said. “And then I would expose him to something I was working on…I really loved the romantic period of classical music…I would come in with a piece I was working on… We loved playing for each other and we loved working on stuff together and jamming.” John Abney, English teacher, fondly remembers when Marc Lion would bring his musical talent to the campus and make a joyful experience for his fellow staff members. “One time we performed “Somewhere over the Rainbow” for another teacher who used to work here years ago when she retired. Steve Johnson/With Permission
Family- Everyone found an aspect of family and belonging in him. “He’ll really be missed and and I really loved him,” Sandra Lion said. From left to right: Marc Lion celebrates his last birthday, a student collage of artwork honors Marc Lion at his funeral, and Panther colleagues gather at a retirement party.
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Panther Prowler | June 3, 2022
