Magda Castellvi deMoor

Moss Beach - Magda Castellvi deMoor

92 years

June 26, 1932 Mendoza, Argentina

April 12, 2025 Moss Beach, California

Magda was born in Mendoza, Argentina in a winery where her father was an accountant. By coincidence, the family name Castellvi is derived from the Catalan words Castle and Wine. Her roots are from Spain, as both her parents Miguel and Montserrat were from Barcelona. They emigrated to Argentina during the pre-Spanish Civil War period. Most of her blood relatives continue to live in Mendoza.

Magda's life was full of rich experiences. After graduating top of her class, she left to pursue her dreams in academia, and ultimately to Cambridge, Massachusetts. As a Fulbright scholar, she completed her Master's degree in Romance Languages and Literature at Harvard University. With diploma in hand, she planned to return to Argentina to pursue her PhD. However, a chance meeting with a Dutch US citizen would change the direction of her life.

On a business trip to Argentina, Hendrik met Magda at a family "asado" or barbeque in November 1960. They reunited the following year when she came to Harvard. He serenaded her with roses, sardines and wine below her university dorm window and on August 11, 1962 they were married at Appleton Chapel in Harvard Yard. They celebrated their 50th anniversary a few weeks before Hendrik's passing in August 2012.

Those who knew Magda knew her as an intelligent, warm, and genuine person, distinguished, with a good heart and a creative but unintentional sense of humor. She was the creator of uniquely Magda expressions such as "Witchy the Pooh" for when she had a bad hair day, and foolish actions such as "Monkey Si, Monkey No" to name a few.

Behind her genuine human sincerity, she was also an accomplished - at times frustrated - perfectionist. When she met Hendrik, she could barely boil water, but became an exquisite cook and threw engaging dinner parties for friends, family and international business associates. As a non-native English speaker, she worried about her writing ability and yet wrote the most poetic and deeply meaningful letters and cards - She never missed a holiday, birthday, graduation or anniversary to let you know she loved you and was proud of you.

Magda was ahead of her time as a highly-educated, professional working woman who advanced women's issues. She was active in the League of Women Voters in the 1960's. While Hendrik's job required international travel 60% of the year, across six continents, she simultaneously raised three children, while working as a full-time professor at Assumption University, while completing her PhD at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Over her more than 35-year career at Assumption - as Professor, Chair of the Foreign Language Department, Director of the Latin American Studies Program, and ultimately Professor Emerita - Magda published and contributed to numerous articles, books, and especially enjoyed presenting at international conferences. Her expertise as a theater critic for Latin American women playwrights furthered her advocacy for feminist culture and gender politics.

Perhaps what Magda cherished and embraced the most was family - not only her large and close-knit family in Argentina, but also the extended deMoor family with Hendrik and their three children - Paul, Ingrid and Karen - in Worcester, Massachusetts. Hendrik and Magda were a worldly couple, creating community in New England and also in Bariloche, Argentina where they built a second home and visited often. They had rich family traditions - Sunday evenings in front of the fireplace watching Walt Disney with the kids, long and late-night sitdown dinners where politics and current events were discussed and debated, Summer trips to Plum Island and Cape Cod, 40+ years of annual vacations to Peaks Island Maine, camping trips to the maritime provinces of Canada, and adventures to Patagonia were some of her most memorable.

Magda and Hendrik inspired their children and their spouses, and their grandchildren to be positive, to stand up for principles, and to do good in the world. They instilled in us an enthusiasm for life, and to appreciate challenges, opportunities, and adventures. After moving to California and Hendrik's death 13 years ago, Magda continued to travel internationally with family, and she joined an opera appreciation group. She began practicing Pilates at Karen and Tom's studio and was a devoted student into her 90s, developing an affectionate relationship with the community of teachers and clients.

Magda often said that if she could live her life over, she would do it all exactly the same way and not change a thing. She passed away at home surrounded by her loving family and is survived by her children and their spouses: Paul de Moor and Susan Rolfe of Newton MA, Ingrid deMoor and Luther Kitahata of Hillsborough CA, Karen deMoor and Tom McCook of Moss Beach CA; five grandchildren: Garrett, Andrea, Andreas, Nicholas and Thi Vinh; as well as several nephews and nieces, and grand nephews and nieces. A private ash scattering ceremony at sea will take place near the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco Bay where she will join Hendrik.

Donations may be made in Magda's memory to League of Women Voters: https://www.lwv.org, Oxfam America: http://www.oxfamamerica.org, or Amnesty International: http://www.amnesty.org