Christine Mandell was born on October 30th, 1958. Her parents were Marvin Mandell, an author and professor of literature at Curry College, and Betty Reid Mandell, an author, human rights advocate, and professor of social work at Bridgewater State College. She graduated summa cum laude in English literature and Creative Writing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and received her M.Ed. in Reading Education from Boston University. She loved classical music and played the violin all her life; she spent a summer busking around Europe but wouldn’t play any composer after Mozart, since she thought that was “too modern.” She was in the process of notating birdsong onto sheet music before she died. She also played classical guitar, mandolin, banjo, and recorder. She loved working with children and gave them regular violin lessons (using the Suzuki method); she also taught young children to read, using the phonics method. She wrote a children’s textbook, Pronunciation Fun for ESL Students, as well as a series of twelve books based on the Phono-Graphix reading method called Playful Stories. She taught English as a Second Language to adults and was very popular among the Korean community in Boston and abroad. She was a devoted member of the Peaceful Songbird Sangha of Boston Old Path Sangha, studying the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. She is survived by her younger sister, Charlotte Mandell Kelly, who will miss her dearly. Funeral Services are private.