Fern H. Sapienza

Fern Sapienza passed away following a brief illness on December 17, 2017, at Davis Hospice Center in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
She was born on June 8, 1927 in Avery, Texas.
Fern was the daughter of Jewel and Lee Hegler, formerly of Texas, and the beloved wife of John Sapienza. She is survived by her husband of 67 years; brother Harold (Erma) Hegler of Daingerfield, TX; children John (Carol) of Leesburg, VA; Lynn (Tim) Olsen of Eugene, OR; Jerral (Jennifer) of Hillsboro, OR; and Laurie of Cheyenne; four grandchildren and one great-grandson.
Fern grew up near Lydia, Texas. She had a hard childhood, surviving polio and a lengthy hospitalization at the Shriners Hospital in Louisiana. She was a smart child and, despite her illness, she excelled in school. She went on to graduate college from Texas State Teachers College in San Marcos. She was teaching in San Antonio when she met John, who was stationed at nearby Lackland Air Force Base. Fern had a part time job selling tickets at the local movie theater, and when John realized he had already seen a movie for which he had just purchased a ticket, he asked her for a refund. She refused his 35-cent ticket cost, but they began a conversation...and the rest is history.
After John and Fern were married, John was reassigned to Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in 1950. They moved to Cheyenne, where Fern began a long and distinguished teaching career. For most of it, Fern taught at Churchill Elementary, but over the course of the 38 years, she also taught in one or two other schools. She taught 6th grade and loved every minute of it. She was a giving educator whose compassion and concern did not end when the children walked out the door on the way home. Many times she provided clothing, school supplies, or food to children in need. Every night she would grade papers, and on the weekends she worked on the next week’s lesson plans. Her classroom was always full of red and white geraniums that she would lovingly transplant into her back yard during the beginning of each summer and then replant in pots for her classroom as the start of school neared. Her penmanship was extraordinary, and she demanded that her students aspire to the same level.
Fern was a wonderfully supportive and loving wife and mother. She stood by John when he tried twice to open restaurants in Cheyenne, and she waited tables after school. Then, when John decided to get his degree and become a teacher, too, she was the sole breadwinner while he attended UW and commuted from Cheyenne daily. Later, Fern and John obtained their Masters’ degrees and went on to get their MA 30 certifications. Being teachers, Fern and John had summers off, but they spent this time and other school vacations hauling their children and her parents all around the United States in various motor homes, which Fern loved to drive. Always burdened by the crippling effects from her polio, she occasionally had trouble walking, but she never tired of traveling or seeing new sights. After she retired, she volunteered often at the pharmacy at the Warren Air Force Base hospital.
As she got older, Fern could often be found at the kitchen table of the house she loved on Maple Court, working on the crossword puzzle in the paper. She had heard that this exercise was apt to stave off memory loss, and she was determined to do it as long as possible. Until her vision started fading a short time ago, she would sit at the table, occasionally reaching for the dictionary, and plugging away until the puzzle was complete.
In October 2017, Fern was baptized into the Lutheran faith. A celebration of her life will be held at Ascension Lutheran Church on Friday, 22 December 2017 at 10 AM. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Davis Hospice Center.