Catherine Ann Spiegel died peacefully on Jan. 29, 2021 at St. John Paul II nursing home in Danbury, Conn. She was 85.
She was born on June 7, 1935 in Dayton, Ohio to the late Harry Walter Carmack and Mary Elizabeth Madigan Carmack.
Catherine, known as Ann to her many friends and colleagues, graduated from the University of Dayton and went on to earn her master’s degree at New York University. She spent most of her adult life working as a psychotherapist and took great pride in helping her clients live full and happy lives.
In her younger years, Ann enjoyed playing tennis, skiing, and swimming, and she eagerly shared those joys with her children as they were growing up. She was an avid reader, loved poetry and music, and made watercolor paintings of things that touched her heart.
Her true love was the ocean and all of the gifts it left behind. During summer months in Wellfleet, she would happily jump into the ocean for a brisk swim and then wander for hours, beachcombing and collecting shells. Each new find seemed magical to her. Ann handed down her love of the ocean to her children and grandchildren, who will always remember her when they walk her favorite beaches and pick up a sand dollar or jingle shell.
Ann is survived by her three children, who adored her to the moon and back: daughter Mary Josephine Carmack Emmet and husband Richard of Wellfleet, son Daniel A. Spiegel and wife Lisa of Wallkill, N.Y., and daughter Stephanie V. Porteus of Yorktown Heights, N.Y. She also leaves seven grandchildren: Robert Hepburn Emmet of Wellfleet, Margaret Madigan Emmet and husband Matthew Burns of Orleans, Grace Sherwood Emmet of Eastham, Keenan Daniel Spiegel and wife Andraya of Westport, Conn., Patrick James Porteus and wife Kaya of Yorktown Heights, Jonathan Carmack of Danbury, Conn., and Brendan Cavanaugh Porteus of Yorktown Heights; and two great-grandchildren, Daniel and Keenan Spiegel. She will be affectionally remembered by several of her grandchildren as “Nanny Buggy” and will continue to live in the hearts and souls of all of her loving family.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Catherine’s memory to the Cape Cod National Seashore, 99 Marconi Site Rd. Wellfleet 02667. Catherine will be laid to rest in her family plot at Oakdale Cemetery in Wellfleet.
