UFT Admin
- Retired Teacher
Cynthia Patterson, a longtime New York City public school teacher who was beloved by both her colleagues and her students, died on Nov. 14, 2024, at age 73. The cause was cancer.
Cynthia was teaching at IS 219 in the Bronx when she retired in 2016 after 21 years of service.
Zanette Joseph, the chapter leader at IS 219, said Cynthia was a literacy teacher at the school and her involvement went well beyond the classroom. When it was time to do school shows and other activities, Cynthia “took charge,” Joseph said. She led the school glee club and organized school assemblies. She was particularly known for organizing the annual Black History Month assembly.
“That was her baby, and she always was in charge of that,” Joseph said.
Cynthia was beloved at IS 219, Joseph said. “She was very nurturing. She was a peacemaker, and she was a respected staff member here,” she said.
Cynthia enjoyed helping students and “was like a mom, an aunt, a grandmother to many of them,” Joseph said.
Cynthia had beat cancer once before, but it returned and she ultimately lost her battle, said Joseph, who called Cynthia “just a great individual – very inspiring.”
Aside from her love of education, Cynthia had an exquisite taste for fashion and a love of traveling, said her husband, Ronald Patterson. “She was admired by many for her fashion sense and her ability to always put together the best outfits for any occasion,” he said.
In addition to her husband, Cynthia is survived by three children, Ronald Jr., Cheryl and Kimberly Patterson; grandchildren Brandon Patterson, Janelle and Janiah Rowland, and Leslie, Lensely, Jalen and Jada Morgan; and great-granddaughters Aniylah, Arya and Amei Fountain.
