Collette Kean

Collette was the widow of Dr. Benjamin H. Kean, a distinguished professor of tropical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College and an internist of international renown. She will be dearly missed by her extensive family of 19 nieces, nephews and 37 great-nieces and great-nephews, many lifelong friends and her loving staff.

Collette was born May 26, 1930, in Mount Joy, the daughter of the late Joseph B. Touey and Elsie G. (Miller) Touey. She attended Wyoming Seminary in Kingston ('48) and graduated from Drexel University with a degree in business administration.

In 1956 she began her illustrious career in fashion at Lord & Taylor's Executive Training Program. In 1963 Collette was discovered by Bergdorf Goodman and then the local and international press, where she began making her mark for her keen sense of style and her sharp pencil.

While at Bergdorf, Collette served on the executive management board and created and launched the first youth-oriented boutique in a New York store, known as BIGI. Collette's role in buying and in developing designers was global and she was actively involved with, and a member of, the International Fashion Group.

In the early 1980s, desiring to spend more time with her husband, Collette left the business world and became deeply involved in volunteerism, serving as president of the Auxiliary at New York Hospital and later was the chairman emeritus. For her outstanding work with the Auxiliary, she received a special citation from the Governors of the New York Hospital.

She also served on the Executive Board of the New York Weill Cornel Council, a combined advocacy group for New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical College, and was a member of the hospital's Patient-Centered Care and Service Quality Committee, the Women's Health Symposium Steering Committee, and co-chairman of the Circle of New York Presbyterian Hospital. In June 2007, Collette received the Leadership Award from the Weill Cornell Medical College.

Throughout her life, Collette was a passionate supporter of youth, a tireless advocate for women, a world traveler and dedicated supporter to numerous charities. Collette's greatest contributions of self were made to New York Presbyterian Hospital (NYP) and her alma mater, Wyoming Seminary in Kingston, where she was on the Board of Trustees, appointed as a life trustee and served as national chairperson for the 1991 Annual Fund. Collette was also awarded the Distinguished Service Award in 1991 for her extensive leadership.

Collette also worked with the Central Park Conservancy as a member of the Tree Trust Committee, and was a member of the Council on Population Control and Infectious Disease at the Harvard School of Public Health. At the Hospital for Special Surgery, Collette founded and sat on the Oversight Committee for the Collette Touey Kean Chair of Research.

Collette was preceded in death by her sisters, Therese (Tod) C. Kruse, Anne Rita McMenamin and Joan Touey Lake; brothers, John Austin Touey and Joseph Bernard Touey; and two nephews.

The family would like to extend special thanks to her professional aides for their excellent care. Due to their efforts, Collette lived a longer and more comfortable life.

In lieu of flowers, you may donate to New York Presbyterian Hospital, Weill Cornell Medical College International Fellowship Fund, Wyoming Seminary's Collette Touey Kean Scholarship Fund or Calvary Hospital.

There will be a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. Wednesday in the Church of St. Catherine of Siena, 411 E. 68th St., New York, N.Y. Immediately following the Mass, the family will depart for Pennsylvania for the burial at St. Mary's Cemetery outside Kingston, where Collette will be interred next to her beloved Ben. There will be a reception for family and friends at the Westmoreland Club, 59 S. Franklin St., Wilkes-Barre. In the fall, there will be a memorial service held in Collette's honor in Manhattan.