Phyllis Katz

1936 - 2025

Phyllis Katz

Northampton, MA - Phyllis B. Katz died peacefully on September 5th, 2025 in Northampton, MA, where she spent the last years of her life under the loving care of her daughter Laura and Laura's husband Dan. Phyllis was a beloved wife, mother, and grandmother, as well as teacher, mentor, and author of numerous works in classics and poetry.

Phyllis was born on May 23, 1936, in New Haven Connecticut. Her parents were Fredrick J. Beck and Enda E. Beck. Fred was an engineering professor at Yale College, and Edna a premier dancer, having performed with the Ziegfeld Follies in New York City in the 1950's. Phyllis was married for 58 years to Arnold M. Katz, originally from Chicago, IL. Arnold was a world-renowned cardiologist who served as the first Philip J. and Harriet L. Goodhart Professor of Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, later becoming Chief of Cardiology at the University of Connecticut's School of Medicine.

Phyllis received her BA degree in English literature at Wellesley College in 1958, an MA in Greek at UCLA in 1964, and a PhD in Classics in 1969 from Columbia University. She had a long and distinguished teaching career in both Classics and English, starting in 1968 at the University of Illinois, Circle Campus in Chicago, IL; and continuing at the College of New Rochelle in New Rochelle, NY; State University of New York in Purchase; and Miss Porter's School in Farmington, CT. From 1990 until 2007, Phyllis was a visiting scholar at Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH, where she taught in the Arts and Liberal Sciences and Women's Studies programs. Phyllis received numerous awards and fellowships, including the Barlow-Beach Award from the Classical Association of New England in 1997 and an award from the National Endowment for the Humanities, for which she was honored by First Lady Barbara Bush at a White House ceremony (she babysat for the Bush family one summer in Kennebunkport, ME, a job she secured through the financial aid office at Wellesley). Phyllis also devoted unstinting energy to her poetry, publishing a total of four books, the most recent being Finding Ithaca (2018) and Ghost Orchids (2020).

Phyllis' favorite hobbies included cooking, opera, theater, hiking, and birdwatching. She enjoyed going on birdwatching tours with her daughter Sarah, visiting her children and grandchildren in London and Taiwan, and hosting the entire family at their dream house Treetops in Norwich, VT. Phyllis and Arnold were world travelers, journeying to Europe, Asia, Africa, Antarctica, and the Amazon River. They also loved animals (particularly springer spaniels) and they never said no to the steady stream of cats, dogs, guinea pigs, hamsters, and even a parakeet that were brought home by their children.

Phyllis is survived by her oldest child, Paul Katz and his wife Shufen Liu, as well as three daughters: Sarah Fostello and her husband James (Buddy) Fostello, Amy Schick and her partner Dave Brown and Laura Katz and her husband Dan Berger. She is also survived by her eight grandchildren: Emily and Philip Katz, James and Caroline Fostello, Annabel and Michael Schick, and Rose and Alex Katz-Berger.

There will be no public service at this time. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Phyllis's memory to benefit the work done at Mass Audubon or Wellesley Students' Aid Society.