Kathleen Berman
Obituary Reports the death of an individual, providing an account of the person’s life including their achievements, any controversies in which they were involved, and reminiscences by people who knew them.
Kathleen Anne Berman (née Schelberg) of Chappaqua died unexpectedly at home on Jan. 16.
Born Nov. 27, 1950, in Washington, D.C. to Sarah Jane Schelberg (née Jarboe) and William Vincent Schleberg, Kathy attended school first in Poughkeepsie and then in Chappaqua.
She studied political science and early childhood education at Elmira College, and moved to New York City to work in banking. There, working near 30 Rockefeller Plaza, she met the love of her life, NBC News editor Richard Berman. They married in 1980 and had three sons, whom she raised with endless affection, energy, love and care. Kathy was an exceptionally dedicated president of the Parent-Teachers Association, helping to improve the quality of education of countless pupils.
An avid reader, Kathy combined keen intelligence with a constant whimsical sense of humor, peppering her conversations with favorite adjectives such as “wackadoodle” and interjections such as “Holy hellcats!” and inventing the original holiday of “Lazy Bum Day” for her children (in which they had the luxury to do absolutely nothing at all and celebrate with a cake on the last day before school started).
She taught her children to “speak the truth and spite the devil” and encouraged them to be curious about the world around them, to pursue their interests and to think for themselves.
She had the opportunity to travel to England and Germany in her youth, and to stay in Mexico City studying Spanish as a teenager. With Richard, she visited Hong Kong and Spain, and later traveled to Bermuda, Florida and Canada with her children, as well as many small towns where she and Richard enjoyed antiquing. But she enjoyed nothing so much as the sun and the roar of the waves at the beach, where she spent many relaxed summers with her family in Lavalette, N.J. and Truro, Mass.
An extremely knowledgeable collector of vintage children’s mystery books, she was as close as family with a tight-knit online community of friends who met through their mutual love of the Judy Bolton series of books. Her interests led her to intimate friendships with people in many different places.
Much of Kathy’s life was dedicated to caring for others – first for her parents during their illnesses, and then for her dear sister Jane, who was born with a weak heart and lived with Kathy for her entire life.
In 2015, her husband, Rich, suffered a life-changing accident, losing the ability to walk after a fall. Kathy dedicated herself to caring for him, driving back and forth every day to be with him at the VA hospital in the Bronx, then taking on nursing duties for him when he was finally able to come home – a task that became even greater when he developed Alzheimer’s disease.
After Richard’s accident, she embarked on a career of teaching English as a second language online, first to Chinese children, with whom she developed an immediate natural rapport, keeping the attention of children as young as four through a computer screen on the other side of the world. Later she expanded to teaching adult students and those from outside China, from countries as diverse as Turkey, Russia, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. Her unique conversational ability to interest and entertain anyone made “Teacher Kathy” a favorite with her students, especially because she was truly interested in their lives. Her conversations with friends and family never lacked for colorful stories from the lives of the students who had opened up to her.
She was heartbroken in October when her husband finally succumbed to Alzheimer’s disease.
Kathy is survived by her three sons, Charles (and wife Suzanne), Jonathan and Noah, as well as many dear friends in many places. She will be missed by everyone who knew her.
Burial was at Fair Ridge Cemetery in Chappaqua. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Kathy’s memory to the Friends of the Chappaqua Library at https://www.chappaqualibraryfriends.org/support.
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