more on lisa

This morning, I received the following letter from my grad school. I wrote last week about lisa and I justed wanted to share this with everyone, so that more people will know where their condolences can be sent...


We were all shocked and saddened to learn of the unexpected death early last week of Lisa Pellettiere. As well as pursuing her master’s degree at Bank Street, Lisa was a beloved mother and teacher. She taught at Beginnings Nursery School for 3 years, where she was a gifted, respected and cherished teacher.

Over the course of the past week and a half, the outpouring of emotion for Lisa has been amazing. The hundreds of e-mails and letters that have been exchanged within our school community tell the story of a woman who touched many people's lives. With her death, we have lost someone whose incredible spirit has given so much to our children. As one parent said, "She cherished each and every child for who they were...she accepted their differences and allowed them to feel secure as they explored who they were."

As you may know, Lisa was a single mother. Her son Nicholas was everything to her. She adored him. Her pride for Nicholas shone through every time she spoke about him. And she spoke about him constantly. Our children felt like Nicholas was a part of their world as well.

Our school community is utterly heartbroken that she leaves Nicholas behind. As parents, we felt that we needed to do something, not only to honor Lisa’s’ memory, but to do anything we could to help Nicholas. To this end, we are collecting donations for a fund being established by Lisa’s brother, Richard, for Nicholas to benefit his welfare and education.

If you would like to contribute to this fund, please make a check payable to "Beginnings Nursery School" and indicate on the check that this is to be designated for the Nicholas Pellettiere fund. Your contribution can be mailed to:

Beginnings Nursery School
130 East 16th Street
New York, New York 10003

Beginnings will hold the donations in a segregated account until the structure and logistics of this fund have been finalized. Lisa’s beloved and trusted brother, Richard, will be the custodian of the account. All proceeds of this account are to go solely to Nicholas.

With our deepest condolences to the Weisenhoff Family and to Nicholas,

Lisa’s family at Beginnings Nursery School

Please note: These donations will not be tax deductible.