Kathryn Speert

1921 - 2018

Kathryn "Kathy" (Heller) Speert, age 97, on Friday, December 14, 2018. She was born on March 26, 1921 in New York City to Albert and Marion Heller. Kathy had one brother (William) and was raised with him on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She attended Vassar College and shortly after graduation in 1943 married Dr. Harold Speert. She and Harold were married for 73 years, until his death in 2017. Kathryn was the devoted mother of Peter Speert and his wife Faye, Nancy Slater and her husband Alan Millner, David Speert and his wife Carol Stein, Ellen Speert and her husband Paul Kaczorowski, and Elizabeth Speert. Adored grandmother of Miriam Crowley, Rebecca, Lauren, Samuel, and Daniel Slater, Rachel, Nathaniel, Zachary, Julia Nevarez and Hunter Kaczorowski. Great-grandmother of Leo and Genevieve Crowley, Silas and Felix Slater and Lyla Nevarez. After World War II, Kathy and Harold moved to Scarsdale, New York, where their five children were raised. After her children were all in school, Kathy received a Masters Degree in Library Science at Columbia University, and then worked in the Library of the Columbia Psychology Department. She then took a job at Columbia University Medical Center in the Parkinson Information Center and then in the International Institute for the Study of Human Reproduction. Kathy and Harold moved to Keene Valley, New York in 1970, at first part-time and ultimately full-time with their retirement. They built a home amid the high peaks of the Adirondacks, where they enjoyed a life of outdoor activities (gardening, biking, hiking and skiing) and where she honed her already excellent skills in quilting and knitting. She was an active and enthusiastic volunteer at the Keene Valley Library where she was trustee and president. When living in remote upstate New York became too difficult for them, Kathy and Harold moved to Lexington, Massachusetts in 2010 where they were close to Peter, Nancy, Elizabeth and then David. Kathy lived at home until her death, attended by her children and her loving aides, Apophia Tumuhimbise, Rachael Namyalo, Doreen Nakigudde, May Nsubuga and Sarah Buleera. A small memorial service for immediate family members was held at Temple Isaiah in Lexington. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to the Keene Valley Library in Keene, New York. Levine Chapels, Brookline 617-277-8300 www.levinechapel.com