Nancy Sassaman, wife of Covenant pastor Marcus Sassaman, passed away on October 10, 2023, in Elkhorn, Nebraska. She was 85 years old.
Nancy Jean Brest was born on December 8, 1937, to parents Kenneth James and Isabelle Banks Brest in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Nancy became a gifted musician, athlete, and student. She was the drum major at Sharon High School and crowned homecoming queen at Roberts Wesleyan University in Rochester, New York. She was Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society in college. She also sang in the traveling acapella choir.
She married Marcus Bailey Sassaman on August 22,1959, in Sharon, Pennsylvania. Together they had three sons: Nathan, Jonathan, and David.
Nancy and Marcus served several Free Methodist churches in Washington State and New Jersey. They began serving Somerset West Covenant Church in Portland, Oregon, and Marcus transferred his ordination to the Covenant in 1977.
Nancy was a high school music teacher in Livonia, New York, then taught in Colton, Oregon, while Marcus graduated from Western Evangelical Seminary. Nancy also was a public-school music specialist. Her elementary, middle, and high school music programs set the gold standard for the Beaverton School District. In addition to leading church music ministries and teaching public school music, Nancy taught private piano lessons. She is loved by thousands of her piano students across the country. She loved every day of teaching music and piano.
Nancy was a friend and counselor to all. Faith, family, music, and more recently, sports were her life.
She is survived by her husband, Marcus; her brothers, Robert Brest and Thomas Brest; her sons, Nathan, Jonathan, and David; eight grandchildren, as well as many other friends.
A memorial celebration was held on December 8, 2023, at Oak Hills Christian Church in Beaverton, Oregon (the same church where she held her piano recitals). She was interred at Skyline Memorial Gardens in Portland, Oregon.
Donations to the Portland First Evangelical Covenant Church fund are welcome. Expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.skylinememorialgardens.com for the Sassaman family.
Peace be to her memory.
