Thea Duell (1950-2018)

Prolific painter and sculptor, Thea Duell died in her after a long, courageous fight against cancer. She was born in New York city to Manny and Irene Duell, a Holocaust survivor. She attended Brearley and the Ethical Culture Fieldston School before getting her Bachelor of Arts degree at Swarthmore College, followed by a law degree from Columbia University and Boston College. She practiced law at Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius, as then the only female in the firm. Thea moved to Connecticut then began working at and ultimately running the family real estate company in New York city with her brother Benjamin.

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Thea Duell
After a long, courageous fight against cancer, Thea Duell passed away with grace and dignity on June 27, 2018 in her home overlooking the ocean in Greenwich, CT. 
A regal woman who was a prolific painter and sculptor for over forty years, Thea was also the only female lawyer at the prestigious Morgan, Lewis & Bockius law firm in Philadelphia, a lifelong, generous patron of many causes, and the cornerstone of the family real estate business in NYC for three decades up until her passing; she was a true renaissance woman and the matriarch of the Duell family.
She was born in New York City to Manny and Irene Duell, a Holocaust survivor. She attended Brearley and the Ethical Culture Fieldston School before getting her B.A. at Swarthmore College, followed by a law degree from Columbia University and Boston College. After practicing law at Morgan, Lewis, and Bockius, a rare achievement in those days as the only female in the firm, Thea moved to Connecticut, had three children, and then began working at and ultimately running the family real estate company in NYC along with her brother Benjamin. Throughout all of her life's many stages, she was a brilliant and steadfast painter, sculptor, and collagist, amassing an evolving body of work that began in childhood art classes at MOMA, and continued to flourish until only months before her passing at her home studio overlooking Byram Harbor. Few artists can claim such dedication.
Thea was an incredible cook, insatiable reader, and had a lifelong passion for traveling the world, especially in Italy, where she lived for a time outside of Florence. It was a time she cherished.
With a fiery joie de vivre and sense of humor, she was never one to take life too seriously.
Even in her dying days, Thea had poise, wit, and a timeless grace, as if from another era. 
She truly was.
Thea is survived by her husband, Peter Cook, her children, Damon, Alexander and Theodore, her daughter-in-law Emma, her beloved grandchildren Oona and Fox, and her brother Benjamin. 
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions to the Lung Cancer Alliance or The MSA Coalition, in Thea's honor.

Published by Greenwich Time on Jul. 6, 2018.