Aline Sayer Obituary

Aline Sayer

Amherst, MA - Aline Sayer of Amherst died on March 18, 2026. Aline, the daughter of Albert and Ruth Gross, was born and raised in Philadelphia. She was an early and voracious reader, stimulated by frequent visits to the Philadelphia Public Library. Even as a youngster her parents did not object to her use of public transportation for her downtown excursions.

Aline graduated from Northeast High School, the school portrayed in Frederic Wiseman's movie, High School. She graduated from Temple University as a Psychology major and spent a year at the University of Chicago School of Social Work, but then returned to Philadelphia to teach in the nation's new Head Start program. She also pursued one of her loves by taking Art History courses at the University of Pennsylvania. She met her husband, Gus, who subsequently obtained a fellowship to teach at nearby Haverford College. She and Gus married in 1968 and Aline enrolled in a Master's program in Art History at the University of Delaware.

In 1970, with her thesis on Francisco Goya in hand, she and her husband moved to Boston, where Aline returned to her career as a Head Start teacher. She became a program director the following year and eventually accepted a position at Wheelock College training Head Start paraprofessionals to become teachers. When this program ended, Aline enrolled in a doctoral program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Among her experiences as a graduate student, Aline joined a group of elementary school teachers who met with noted atomic physicist Phillip Morrison at his home to discuss changes needed in the teaching of science to young children. She also helped introduce the use of computers in elementary classrooms using a program designed by Professor Judah Schwartz. But it was her doctoral thesis work that led her to a career in training social scientists in experimental design and data analysis. After completing her doctoral thesis, she joined faculties at Pennsylvania State University, Radcliffe College and eventually at the University of Massachusetts preparing Psychology graduate students for research careers.

Aline is survived by her husband, her son Gabriel and his wife, Amy Liszt, her grandchildren Juliet and Noah, her brother Harvey Gross and his wife, Roseanne, her niece Lauren Daul and her nephew, Eric Gross.