Jean B. Castells
Cambridge, NY Jean B. Castells died peacefully at her home on Gilbert Street, on Tuesday, February 16, 2010.
Jean was the daughter of Edwin and Isabel (Boyd) Proudfit. Her parents divorced shortly after she was born and she was raised in New York City with her two adopted brothers, John and Michael. She attended school in New York and subsequently graduated from Dana Hall in Massachusetts. Following this she obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from Smith College and a Masters degree from Stanford as a musicologist. She loved music and played the piano and oboe. She was also an avid reader and particularly liked biographies. In addition, she was very creative and talented in needlework and spent many happy hours in this pursuit.
After graduating Jean traveled in Europe and lived and worked in Copenhagen, Denmark for a year. During a trip to Spain, she met her husband-to-be, Salvador Castells. They were subsequently married in the Queens Chapel in the Savoy in London. They lived for a short time in Cambridge, England before coming back to the U S, and living in various cities while Salvador obtained his license to practice medicine as a pediatrician. They had two sons. They divorced and Jean lived for a number of years in Wilton, Connecticut before she moved to Cambridge, NY in 1993.
Jean was proud of her sons and enjoyed and loved her granddaughter and grandson. She was someone who cared greatly for her family, relatives and friends. In her latter years she was incapacitated and bedridden, but always remained cheerful and interested in what was happening in the world. She died at the age of 79 of heart failure. She will be missed by her family and friends.
She is survived by her sons David and Brewster; her grandchildren Maya and Noah; her daughter-in-law Grace; her two brothers Michael and John and her sister-in-law Sally.
A memorial celebration of Jean’s life will be held on Saturday, February 20, 2010 at 11:00 AM at Ackley & Ross Funeral Home, 73 West Main Street, Cambridge.
The family suggests donations in her memory be made to the Cambridge Valley Rescue Squad, P. O. Box 52, Cambridge, NY 12816.
John and Sally, I wanted to send my condolences to you. Jean was an interesting woman to work for. I have only seen her twice since doing her bookwork but always have stories to remind me of her. Hope that you are both well.