Louise Yavelow Furnas

Louise Beth Yavelow Furnas of 113 Clover Lane, Ithaca, New York, died peacefully at Oak Hill Manor on October 19, 2016. She was 66. An Ithaca resident since 1979, Louise attended Cornell University as a student in the College of Arts and Sciences from 1968-1970. She later received degrees in music education at Boston University, Ithaca College, and Kodály Institute of Kecskemét, Hungary. Louise leaves behind her beloved family: her sons Benjamin Max Furnas, Andrew O'Shea Sageman-Furnas, their wives, Sarah Laskow and Katelyn Sageman-Furnas, her brother Dr. Stephen Yavelow, her sister-in-law Mary Ann, her niece and nephew Michelle and Aaron, and an extended Furnas family of in-laws, nieces and nephews.

Louise spent many happy and fulfilling years pursuing her profession of music teaching at Fall Creek Elementary School and later at Cayuga Heights Elementary School. She truly enjoyed the many hundreds of children she taught from 1981 to 2015. Louise loved both taking care of and being with her family and teaching the children at school. For her, these activities were both her work and her source of joy. Louise also truly loved her friends-you know who you are!

Louise dabbled in fun activities ranging from singing in Jan Nigro's Motown chorus, hula dancing, practicing Tai Chi, playing African drums, recorder, or ukulele, and bowling. But really, to her, being with her family, her many devoted and lively friends, and her "kids" at school were definitely the most meaningful and fun activities in her life.

She believed so strongly and passionately in the value of arts education that she would like, in lieu of flowers, all contributions in her memory can be sent to Community School of Music and Arts in Ithaca, NY to support their "Arts for All" scholarships, or to another organization that supports children whose families cannot afford private music and art lessons.

These are Louise's own words that she wrote before she died.