Who is Lee Ann Zlomek?

     The answer to that question depends on who you ask.  To some, Lee Ann Zlomek was family.  To others, she was a friend.  To still others, she was a teacher, a colleague, or a mentor.

     Although her titles may have been different to different people, her demeanor with all was the same.  She was loving, kind, funny, humble, and helpful.

     Lee Ann taught algebra to high school freshmen at Mountain Ridge High School in Frostburg, Maryland, during the day and to college students at Allegany College of Maryland in Cumberland in the evening.  Prior to joining the faculty at Mountain Ridge, she taught 7th and 8th grade math at Washington Middle School from 1994-2004 and served as the school’s Math Improvement Specialist from 2004-2008.  She was board certified, and she won numerous awards, including the 2012-2013 “Teacher of the Year” for both Mountain Ridge High School and Allegany County.  She was also selected as Washington Middle School’s “Teacher of the Year,” 2001-2002, and she received the “Tim Conroy Award for Mountain Ridge High School Teacher of the Year” in 2014. 

     Lee Ann loved the Steelers, especially Troy Polamalu (she campaigned pretty hard to have her nephew named Troy Polamalu Wolfe), chocolate, and grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup.  She didn't like to cook or exercise but was active both her in students' lives and in our family's.  In fact, her sense of family was almost as strong as her desire to achieve and organize.

     When she was diagnosed, out of the blue, with stage four breast cancer at the end of January 2014, we were all in shock.  But in typical Lee Ann fashion, she worried about the rest of us more than she worried about herself.  She worked just as hard at keeping our spirits up as we did hers.  Her faith, already strong, grew even stronger.  Her love for and trust in God became a comfort and a promise in victory.  When she left us on Tuesday, June 24, 2014, at the age of 43, our hearts were broken, but her spirit soared.

     Although we miss her every day, we are grateful for her presence in our lives.  She was a beautiful person in body and soul, and we look forward to seeing her again one day.

Who is Team Zlomek?

     The term "Team Zlomek" was created by Eric Stevens, a student at Mountain Ridge High School, where Lee Ann taught.  However, the community behind "Team Zlomek" was a lifetime in the making.  It includes her family, friends, former and current colleagues, family friends, neighbors, students and their parents, community members, and more.

     Although she was already pretty well known in her immediate community and in the education community, after we lost Lee Ann to breast cancer in 2014, however, her sphere of influence grew.  Thanks in part to the efforts of Angelo Bucchino and the cooperation of the staff of the Schwab Family Cancer Center, part of the Western Maryland Health System in Cumberland, Maryland, hundreds of cancer patients have found comfort and inspiration in the faith Lee Ann demonstrated throughout her illness and now through a ministry inspired by her own desire to share the good news of God: Lee Ann's Lift Cards.

     Today, Team Zlomek includes anyone who loved Lee Ann or is inspired by her courage and faith, anyone who reads or shares the Cards, and anyone who shares her hope.

About Team Zlomek