SANDFORD LEIBICK

- July 7, 2022

Sandy Leibick, age 74, passed away on Thursday, July 7, 2022, in San Antonio, Texas. He was born on September 14, 1947, in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Miriam and Leonard Leibick. Sandy is survived by his wife, Laine Owen Leibick; children, Joshua and Kaitlyn; grandchildren, Jessica Leibick and Yobani Rebollar; brother, Marc Leibick (Carol); sisters-inlaw, Alice Owen (Sam Farsaii) and Laura Owen (David Leary); as well as numerous nieces, nephews, cousins and friends. A celebration of life will take place later in Austin.

As a young child, Sandy displayed an unusually mature singing voice and studied to be a cantor. He was a member of the 100-voice NYC All High School Choir and sang at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. However, years of attending Broadway shows and singing along with Perry Como on TV led to his real love - performing in musicals. Among many roles, he played Bennie in Guys and Dolls, Jacquot in Carnival, Tommy in Brigadoon

September 14, 1947

and Tony in the Paramount production of West Side Story. For many years, he performed with Broadway Express and River City Pops.

Sandy graduated from Austin College in Sherman in 1969. He and wife Laine met singing in the A Capella Choir. After college, Sandy returned to NYC and taught at PS 155 in Harlem with the Urban Teacher Corps. He and Laine married in 1970. They moved to Austin in 1972 and Sandy began a 40+ year career with Austin ISD as a 6th grade teacher at Ortega and Baker. He was assistant principal at Houston Elementary and principal of Walnut Creek, Read, Langford and Gullett Elementary Schools in AISD and Lake Travis Elementary in Lakeway. Sandy won multiple awards during his career, but nothing was as rewarding as the excitement of students engaged in the process of learning. As a principal, he continued to teach an accelerated math class for fifth graders. Sandy knew that the emotional and academic climate of a school were equally important. He supported teachers who strove to expand students’ experience by interacting with the community through trips and projects. Teachers always

knew that he would be open to new ideas and that he had years of teaching experience himself to draw on for advice. Sandy enjoyed racquetball and spent many hours at the Town Lake Y where he helped form a spin class that sang as they worked out. He was devoted to his granddaughter Jessie and her older brother Yobani and especially enjoyed the family trips to Port Aransas in the fall. Music remained an important part of the bond between Sandy and Laine throughout their 52-year marriage and eased the stress of the declining physical abilities of Parkinson’s disease. Sandy will be remembered by friends and family and several thousand former students throughout the Austin area for his kindness and generosity, talent and hard work, and his devotion to children and their education.

Arrangements with

You are invited to sign the Guestbook at www.porterloring.com