Cynthia Cooke Nyary

NEW GLOUCESTER – Cynthia Cooke Nyary of New Gloucester, Maine, died peacefully at her home on Sept. 18, 2025. She was 97.

To say someone was “a learner” was Cynthia’s greatest compliment. To her it meant that anyone was redeemable, however imperfect, if they remained curious and brave. And Cynthia was the consummate learner.

Born in Bay City, Mich., on July 8, 1928, Cynthia graduated from Bay City Central High School in 1946 and went to Bennington College, a foreign world to a naive, pretty young woman from a small midwestern city. Later she would tell stories about listening to the Weavers and watching Martha Graham dance, and how Peter Drucker was her advisor, Erich Fromm and Stanely Kunitz were among her professors, and she babysat for Shirley Jackson.

She graduated in 1950 and moved to New York City, where she met her first husband, Nicholas Nyary. After a stint in Berlin when he was in the service, they moved to Weston, Mass., and then Wellesley. The mother of three small children, she received a master’s in early childhood development from Wheelock College and taught elementary school in Ashland, Mass., for 15 years, earning a CAGS.

Cynthia met the love of her life, her second husband, Donald Levitan, in 1994, just as each of them was retiring. Eventually settling in Northampton, Mass., they loved to travel to New York City to see the opera and they would also go to the showings at the local cinema, always with peanut butter and apple sandwiches to sustain them.

She and Don traveled extensively with the organization now known as Road Scholar, including a boat trip down the Danube, and a six-week visit to China. They volunteered at the Northampton Survival Center and were active in the Lathrop Community. She took courses with the Five College Learning in Retirement program and classes at the Hampshire YMCA.

Cynthia adored her grandchildren, recognizing each one for who they were and met them there, including talking books and politics, sharing meals, and swapping stories about everyone’s travels.

She enjoyed cooking, she was an excellent knitter, and she gardened into her late 80s.

In 2022, Cynthia moved from Easthampton, Mass., to Maine, where she loved watching the birds, taking the adaptive exercise class at the Freeport YMCA, and participating in monthly game nights.

A voracious reader to the very end, Cynthia always had at least one book going — usually two or three. She read the newspaper every day until the week before she died. She made friends even in her last days, chatting with the hospice staff and asking about their children. She wasn’t afraid to die, she said, she was wondering what it would be like.

In short, she was a learner throughout her life: curious, brave — and deeply loved.

Cynthia is survived by her three daughters, Bondi Nyary of Portland, Ore., Cate Nyary (Maurizio Trevisan) of Rome, Italy, and Sasha Nyary (Kris Wills) of New Gloucester; and by her cat, Pamela.

She also leaves four grandchildren, Jordan Wysong of Portland, Ore., Anneke Levine of Williamsburg, Mass., Jonah Levine of Grenada Hills, Calif., and Lily Ruderman of Holyoke, Mass.

She is survived by her sister, Judy Cooke Hanson of Portland, Ore. She was predeceased by her late husband, Donald Levitan.

A celebration of life will be held in New Gloucester on July 11, 2026. Any time you are in Northampton, Mass., you can visit her and Don’s bench in Look Memorial Park, located near the footbridge by the entrance.

Go to legacy.com to read the full version of this obituary.

In lieu of flowers,

donations may be made to:

Maine Audubon or give to your local public library