Dr. Cecile Nicole Andree Woel. Physician, Matriarch, Lover of French Poetry and Culture.

With profound sadness, we announce the departure of Dr. Cecile Nicole Andree Woel, who passed away on September 28, 2024 at the age of 93.

Dr. Woel was born in Cap Haitien, Haiti. A much beloved daughter she was the second in a family of five. Raised in an environment replete with elevated culture, she developed her lifelong love of the arts at a young age. An accomplished pianist and painter, she also excelled academically. At 18 under the rigid Baccalaureate system, Cecile was admitted to medical school, and was one of 2 women in her class. Our mother was one of those early groundbreakers, barriers to graduate studies were high. It was there that she met her future husband, Gerard, who was immediately smitten by her striking elegance and in particular her hats. Married at the completion of their studies, they embarked on their training interning in New York and the following year moving to Baltimore for their respective residencies. Our mother first trained in and practiced pediatrics but as she welcomed her burgeoning family she transitioned to psychiatry.

Dr. Woel first practiced psychiatry at Seton Psychiatric Institute, Shepherd Pratt and later Spring Grove Hospital Center, where she spent decades in clinical practice and administrative roles. She was known by friends and colleagues for her eloquence, refinement, wit, and loyalty. She was also renowned lifelong for her elegance, poise and charm. Although always dignified her quick wit, gift for and appreciation of comedy and merriment elicited her most delightful peals of laughter and a beautiful smile.

Despite actually wanting 12 children, she settled for eight, finding out that it really wasn't "cheaper by the dozen!" As a mother, Cecile was devoted, affectionate, and insouciant. She was famously rigorous regarding table etiquette, posture, grammar and diction, yet most indulgent with pastries (any sweet really), bedtimes, play and festivities. She shared her deep passion & vast knowlege of French language, literature, poetry and culture with her children, often regaling us with spontaneous recitation from a vast array of cherished French poets and poems long memorized. At her bedside were poetry books, a weathered unabridged Larousse dictionary, and her cherished well worn Bible.

When not working or caring for her family, Dr. Woel was a dedicated pianist and avid gardener. She was often to be found weeding and watering late into the night. Neighbors and strangers alike regularly stopped to admire her roses, dahlias and hydrangeas and to remark how her exquisite garden brightened their walks and many long friendships were formed.

Cecile survived her beloved husband by 25 years. Her widowhood was brightened by the arrival of eight grandchildren Nicholas, Ingrid, Isabella, Julian, Chloe, Gabriel, Michelangelo, and Giselle. Even in her late seventies, Dr. Woel would frequently and joyfully babysit four grandchildren simultaneously. She was a doting grandmother whose piano, vintage telephone and landline, and freezer laden with ice cream delighted her grandchildren.

Our mother was a devoted Catholic of unwavering faith. She expired peacefully after a long and blessed life, surrounded by her family, who quietly sang Piaf, Brel, chansons francaises & prayers as she sang to us as children. She is survived by all those who loved her and her cherished eight children: Cassandre, Gerard, Alissa and spouse John Cras, Valerie and spouse Joe Noguiera, Sybille, Arabella and spouse Stephan Popovich, Rosemonde and spouse Alban Hasani, and Roxanne and spouse Nicholas Nelson. She is and will continue to be deeply mourned. Her memory honored by her children, extended family, neighbors, former colleagues and numerous lifelong friends.

Friends may call at the family owned Ruck-Towson Funeral Home, 1050 York Road (at beltway exit 26) on Friday, October 4, 2024, 4-7 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Saturday, October 5, 2024, 11 AM at the Shrine of the Sacred Heart (Mount Washington), 5800 Smith Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21209. Interment Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens.