Katherine Ella (Hume) Reif died peacefully on April 18, 2020, at the age of 96, in Newton, MA.  A reserved woman with a twinkle in her eye, she exemplified the proverb, “Still waters run deep.”

Kathy was born in Wai, India and lived there until the age of 13.  Her father was a beloved doctor at the Wai Hospital, established by missionaries.  She was the youngest of three children and recalled her childhood home with pleasure, telling stories of peacocks and monkeys and roses in the garden, harvesting hailstones after a storm to make ice cream, playing badminton with her brother and sister, hiking in the hills behind their house, running into her father’s arms when he returned home from his office after work.  She sometimes sprinkled her English with Marathi words she’d learned as a child.

Her family returned to Connecticut when Kathy was 13.  She finished high school in the US and studied early childhood education and child development at Mt Holyoke College and Wheelock College.  She worked as a nursery school teacher and later earned a PhD in psychology from Boston University.  She was a school psychologist in the Newton Public School System for most of her professional life.

Kathy took great pleasure in outdoor activities.  She attended summer camp as a teenager and later worked as a camp counselor herself.  She was an avid hiker, canoeist and cross-country skier and a member of the Appalachian Mountain Club.  It was there that she met her future husband, Arnold Reif, at the August Camp in Maine in the mid-1970’s.  The story goes that he helped her cross the notorious “knife edge” atop Mt Katahdin on one of their earliest encounters.  They married in August 1979, she for the first time, at the age of 55.  

Together they bought a cozy house in a sweet setting on Morse’s Pond in Wellesley, which they enjoyed for many years, in all the seasons.  They could launch their kayaks from their own backyard.  They learned the habits of the local swans and geese.  Kathy made delicious salmon dinners, often inviting friends and family to join them.  They enjoyed friendships with their neighbors.

Kathy had a lively intellect and kept up with both local and international news.  She was a quiet but engaging conversationalist, with interesting opinions and knowledge about a wide range of topics.  She lived lightly on the earth.  She never got a driver’s license but took long walks daily. She rose early and listened to the classical radio station as she prepared her breakfast.  She spent time reading and tending the yard. She enjoyed listening to Arnold play piano in the evenings.  She didn’t rush around. 

She was a kind grandmother to Arnold’s two granddaughters and a supportive friend to his sons, two of whom struggled with substantial challenges in their adult lives.   

Kathy and Arnold moved to The Falls, in Newton, MA in 2016.  The family is grateful to the staff at The Falls for their excellent care of Kathy and to the hospice team at Hebrew Senior Life for their support during her final days.

Kathy was predeceased by her husband, Arnold, in June, 2018.  She leaves her stepson John H. Reif and his wife Jane E. Anderson, of Durham, NC; her step-granddaughters Katie L. Reif of Seattle, WA and Emily R. Reif of Somerville, MA; nieces Elizabeth, Kathy and Ellen, and nephews David, Walter, Frank and William; and close family friends Peter Fortini of Wellesley and Peter Murphy of Gilsum, NH, both of whom were faithful visitors and helpers for many years.