Remembering Jessie Sinclair

Sadly, Jessie Sinclair died peacefully in Denver on May 5 in the company of her devoted daughter, Lisa Sinclair K‘76.  Jessie was director of dance programs at Cranbook from 1961 to 2002.  

On Sunday, June 11, 2023, at 10 AM, Jessie will be remembered along with other alumni and faculty recently lost at the reunion memorial service in the Cranbrook Alumni Courtyard.  

The Alumni Office has created a web page for those who loved Jessie to share their thoughts, photos, and stories with each other here https://padlet.com/CKshares/JSinclair . Be sure to sign your post! 

If you’d like to honor Jessie in a formal way, Lisa has asked that you make a donation in Jessie’s name to the Cranbook Performing Arts Program. You can do that through the Cranbrook Schools fund by clicking here. Put your contribution in the "Arts" field and add her name to the "In Memoriam" field. We will send a tribute card her family letting them know you have made a contribution in her honor. 

  

Jessie’s exploratory approach to movement and education, her innate creativity, and her passion for collaboration have left a lasting mark on performing arts programs at Cranbrook Schools. Over the course of more than forty years, she grew the dance program from humble roots as a modern dance offering in the Kingswood Physical Education Department, to a sophisticated program that served students at all levels, from those in beginning dance and movement classes to high level performing troupes that were featured in shows across campus, spanning the Detroit area, and around the World. Jessie and her dancers were invited to perform in Portugal, Austria, Germany, Belgium, Finland, Venezuela, France and the USSR.  

In 1980, with alumnus David Strickland ’73, Jessie created the annual Strickland Dance Competition, which continues today. The Competition challenges young dancers to create and perform a piece of original choreography.  

Jessie will be remembered by students and colleagues alike for her playfulness and genuine inquisitiveness that made working with her enriching, illuminating, and fun. As former student Anne Fuchs Smith Towbes '65 put it, Jessie’s “mind, body and spirit will dance on in the memories of all those whose lives she has touched forever.”