Catherine S.C. Boericke, artist

Posted 1/19/12

Catherine Schuyler Chambers Boericke, 85, an artist and an advocate for children with learning disabilities, died Dec. 31 at her home in Chestnut Hill.

An accomplished sculptor and painter, Mrs. …

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Catherine S.C. Boericke, artist

Posted

Catherine Schuyler Chambers Boericke, 85, an artist and an advocate for children with learning disabilities, died Dec. 31 at her home in Chestnut Hill.

An accomplished sculptor and painter, Mrs. Boericke was dedicated to the arts throughout her life.

She was an early advocate of improving education for children with learning disabilities, and during the early 1970's she met with New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller in Albany to establish better educational conditions for such children. By an act of the New York legislature, funding was acquired to create a new school for this purpose – the first of its kind in the state.

Mrs. Boericke also was recognized by the New York State Parks Commission for her participation in the restoration of America's oldest park, the Niagara Reservation, which encompasses the American side of Niagara Falls and features original landscaping by Fredrick Law Olmstead.

While living in New York, she served as president of Art Park and Company, a nonprofit cultural organization underwritten by the State of New York, and was active in the Shaw Festival at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada.

She attended Miss Porter’s School and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

She is survived by sons Gouverneur Cadwalader III, Richard McCall Cadwalader II and Gideon Francis Boericke; a daughter, Katherine Schuyler Boericke Mitchell; and five grandchildren. Her first husband, Gouverneur Cadwalader Jr.; her second husband, Gideon Boericke, and a brother, Francis Taylor Chambers III, preceded her in death.

A memorial service planned for the spring at St. Thomas’ Church, Whitemarsh, in Fort Washington. Memorial donations may be made to the Shaw Festival, 10 Queens Parade, Niagara-on-the-Lake, LOS 1J0, Canada; the Woodmere Art Museum, 9201 Germantown Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19118; St. Thomas’ Church, Whitemarsh, P.O. Box 247, Fort Washington, PA 19034, or to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce St., Philadelphia, PA 19104. – WF

 

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