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Services
Private funeral services were held at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Katherine E. Tourelle (nee Cederroth), age 90, of Cedar Crest Village in Pompton Plains and formerly of Verona, Livingston and Short Hills, NJ, passed peacefully on Sunday morning, January 24, 2016.
Kay, as she was affectionately known, was born in Brooklyn, NY. As a little girl, she moved with her parents to Verona, NJ, where she attended Verona schools, graduating from Verona High School with the Class of 1943.
Kay worked for a short time as a dental hygienist in Newark but, longing to develop her more creative gifts, she enrolled in the McDowell School of Dressmaking and Costume Design in New York City and, after graduating in 1945, enthusiastically worked as a fashion illustrator in Manhattan.
Though her husband-to-be, William Tourelle, typically commuted to his job in New York City by train, one day a rail strike forced him to take a bus. It was on that bus that he met beautiful Katherine as she also traveled to work. He proposed during their fourth date but they courted for several years before Kay finally said “yes”. They wed on Saturday, January 17, 1948, at Verona Congregational Church. They settled into their first home together in Livingston.
Kay and Bill were soon blessed with children, and Kay embarked on her career as a loving mother and homemaker. In her spare time, she enjoyed attending art museums and taking art classes where she learned to paint, especially embracing pastels and water color. She also liked to dabble in interior design. Although she possessed no formal training, Kay’s natural eye for color and design resulted in a Better Homes and Garden magazine feature on her and Bill’s master bedroom. It was quite an honor to be featured in a national publication read by millions.
The couple moved from Livingston to Short Hills in 1953 and stayed there for 50 years before moving to Cedar Crest Village in 2003. During their 61 years together—before Bill’s passing in 2009—Kay and Bill explored the world together with opportunities to travel only increasing after Bill’s early retirement at age 54.
Kay was a charter parishioner of the First Congregational Community Church of Short Hills. She always possessed a sense of joy and an attitude of thankfulness in her heart for the blessings she experienced throughout her life. Lately, she enjoyed singing the songs learned during her elementary school years. A very sociable person, she was outgoing and easily struck friendships with people she met.
Katherine was predeceased by her loving husband, William H. Tourelle (2009) and her son Glenn Tourelle in 2014. Surviving are her daughter Wendy Minshall and husband Hap of Montville; her son Robert Tourelle; her daughter-in-law Cynthia Tourelle of Ocala, Florida; and her granddaughter Elizabeth and husband Fabian Sonabria of Ocala, Florida.
Those planning an expression of sympathy in Katherine’s memory may consider The Seeing Eye, Inc., P.O. Box 375, Morristown, NJ 07963-0375 (www.seeingeye.org), or Cedar Crest Resident Care Fund, 1 Cedar Crest Village Drive, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444, attention Department of Philanthropy. (Please make check out to Cedar Crest and on the memo line indicate: Resident Care Fund).
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Private funeral services were held at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Services
Private funeral services were held at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne.
Katherine E. Tourelle (nee Cederroth), age 90, of Cedar Crest Village in Pompton Plains and formerly of Verona, Livingston and Short Hills, NJ, passed peacefully on Sunday morning, January 24, 2016.
Kay, as she was affectionately known, was born in Brooklyn, NY. As a little girl, she moved with her parents to Verona, NJ, where she attended Verona schools, graduating from Verona High School with the Class of 1943.
Kay worked for a short time as a dental hygienist in Newark but, longing to develop her more creative gifts, she enrolled in the McDowell School of Dressmaking and Costume Design in New York City and, after graduating in 1945, enthusiastically worked as a fashion illustrator in Manhattan.
Though her husband-to-be, William Tourelle, typically commuted to his job in New York City by train, one day a rail strike forced him to take a bus. It was on that bus that he met beautiful Katherine as she also traveled to work. He proposed during their fourth date but they courted for several years before Kay finally said “yes”. They wed on Saturday, January 17, 1948, at Verona Congregational Church. They settled into their first home together in Livingston.
Kay and Bill were soon blessed with children, and Kay embarked on her career as a loving mother and homemaker. In her spare time, she enjoyed attending art museums and taking art classes where she learned to paint, especially embracing pastels and water color. She also liked to dabble in interior design. Although she possessed no formal training, Kay’s natural eye for color and design resulted in a Better Homes and Garden magazine feature on her and Bill’s master bedroom. It was quite an honor to be featured in a national publication read by millions.
The couple moved from Livingston to Short Hills in 1953 and stayed there for 50 years before moving to Cedar Crest Village in 2003. During their 61 years together—before Bill’s passing in 2009—Kay and Bill explored the world together with opportunities to travel only increasing after Bill’s early retirement at age 54.
Kay was a charter parishioner of the First Congregational Community Church of Short Hills. She always possessed a sense of joy and an attitude of thankfulness in her heart for the blessings she experienced throughout her life. Lately, she enjoyed singing the songs learned during her elementary school years. A very sociable person, she was outgoing and easily struck friendships with people she met.
Katherine was predeceased by her loving husband, William H. Tourelle (2009) and her son Glenn Tourelle in 2014. Surviving are her daughter Wendy Minshall and husband Hap of Montville; her son Robert Tourelle; her daughter-in-law Cynthia Tourelle of Ocala, Florida; and her granddaughter Elizabeth and husband Fabian Sonabria of Ocala, Florida.
Those planning an expression of sympathy in Katherine’s memory may consider The Seeing Eye, Inc., P.O. Box 375, Morristown, NJ 07963-0375 (www.seeingeye.org), or Cedar Crest Resident Care Fund, 1 Cedar Crest Village Drive, Pompton Plains, NJ 07444, attention Department of Philanthropy. (Please make check out to Cedar Crest and on the memo line indicate: Resident Care Fund).
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