Goshen mourns the loss of educator Jane Unhjem

GOSHEN — Friends, family and fellow educators grieved the death of Jane Unhjem (pronounced UN-yum), who worked as an assistant superintendent at the Goshen School District before losing her life Sunday in a plane crash on Long Island.
Her husband, Erik, was also on the plane, and is in Stony Brook University Hospital Medical Center with critical injuries. Another passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have not confirmed who was piloting the plane.
The community is shattered, uncomprehending.
"You don't understand," said Goshen sixth-grader Samantha Lombardo "I just saw her three months ago. She was at my orchestra recitals and my graduation."
Unhjem was known for her dedicated attendance at school activities. She joyfully supported the district's students in all their endeavors, even when the events they participated in were held far from campus.
Sandra Lombardo, Samantha's mom, said, "As a parent, I liked her better than the superintendent because she was there all the time and he wasn't. I just hope they get someone as good as she was and as devoted to the arts as she was."
Another parent, Bonnie Fitzgerald, said, "I didn't know her personally, but she worked with us on several occasions when we needed her help and I feel such a loss."
Unhjem was Mary Ellen Nutley's boss and co-worker but also her friend.
"We shared many laughs and many tears together," Nutley said. "She was a role model to all, a dedicated educator and a friend to everyone who met her. She was an educator in our district for student technology and the arts and a mentor to all our administrators and teachers. She was a very active community volunteer and most importantly a dedicated wife and mother. I will miss her dearly."
“We were not only colleagues, we were friends,” said Mike Kelly, a social studies teacher at Goshen Central High School.
Kelly taught Unhjem’s son, Matt Unhjem, and coached him on the field as a member of the high school soccer team in 2003, he said.
He remembered Unhjem for her tireless interest in the students and families she served.
“You think of the hundreds and hundreds of kids and adults that you encounter, and this someone who never seemed like she mailed it in," he said. "It never seemed like she wasn’t there in the moment. I feel heartbroken for the family.”
Unhjem was a highly cultured woman, as well as a learned one, according to James Kimiecik, the Goshen school board president.
"Her passion was the music and arts programs," Brown said. "She regularly attended music and art shows in the district. Yearly, I would see her at the spring musical with a group of students handing out Playbills. Her warm and caring attitude, expertise and leadership will be missed."

'A definite void'
"Unhjem was a vibrant educator and leader with an infectious energy that affected everyone around her," said a statement on the school district's Web site this week. The district did not announce any plans for a memorial for Unhjem in its announcement, but the flag outside the district administration building on Main Street flew at half-staff.
"A definite void will be felt by the Goshen School District and community," said Kimiecik.
Adam Boese, school board vice president, has five children: two Goshen graduates and three still school.
"My wife and I believe that education is one of the primary building blocks of a fulfilling life," he said. "Primary and secondary education sets the stage for independent thought and continuous learning. My wife and I entrusted those critical years of our children’s lives to Jane. I never knew that until I became a member of the Goshen school board in 2010. “
Though her role as an administrator sometimes kept Unhjem out of the classroom, her influence over the curriculum taught there had lasting effects on the children of the district, Boese said.
“Her wonderfully positive attitude in the face of inane curriculum rules and regulations was an inspiration for everyone to persevere, to maintain a bright outlook, and to continue providing superior education in the district."
He said Unhjem was driven to understand the ever-changing landscape of education and to guide the staff and school board through its complexities and challenges.
"Jane left her mark on my life and I'm a better person for it," Boese said. "If you live in the Goshen School District, then she left her mark on your life, too."
His wife, Liese Boese, said Unhjem was a constant presence in her kids' education.
"Relaying it to my kids, I said,’You have to know her,'" Boese said. "She was the woman who was at every one of your band concerts, every play, and every school function, and always with a smile on her face. She never acted like she was there because she had to be. She was there because she really wanted to be."
School board member Judy Green said Unhjem "always approached her job with enthusiasm and a smile. She wanted nothing more than to have our staff and students succeed. Her energy and commitment will be sorely missed."
Prior to coming to her position as assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction for the Goshen School District, Unhjem worked as an educator in the Monroe-Woodbury district.
Theresa Budich, a longtime member of the M-W district school board, said Unhjem was woman of personal integrity and professional weight.
“She was very pretty, soft-spoken, gentle — and yet she accomplished so much,” Budich said.
Under her leadership at M-W, Unhjem led efforts to provide better teacher training by bringing in outside experts to instruct teachers on best practices that could not have come by merely looking inside the district for solutions, Budich said.
“Up until then, staff development was more district-centered," she said. "She went outside the district and brought different professionals in for our staff to learn better ways to work with our children."
Budich said she felt a professional loss when Unhjem left for Goshen. But this week, the sense of loss was profound.
“I am so sad to have lost this young woman,” she said.

An earlier version of this story misattributed a quote from James Kimiciek.

Reporting by Joshua Rosenau and Vicki Botta