Noelle Caskey was born in a Boston blizzard on December 26, 1947 to parents Walter and Anna Caskey. She died on August 5, 2026 following a 2-week hospitalization for pneumonia. She spent her youth in Needham and Lincoln, Massachusetts before moving in 1970 to the Berkeley, California area where she remained. She graduated from Concord Academy, Radcliffe, and The University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D). She was married to Richard Freudenheim for 20 years.

Noelle taught herself to read long before anyone tried to teach her, and books never let go of her after that – her house and her Kindle were both loaded to the gills. Just as attentive a reader of people as of books, she was known for her penetrating yet compassionate insights into those around her. That gift found its outlet in educational consulting, where she helped teachers and schools work through classroom problems, first as an independent consultant and later as part of the WestEd team, where she finished her career in 2017.

This was only one aspect of her colorful life. Noelle had a strong silly streak and relished stupid jokes as well as other uses of words. As a writer she had a gardening column when she wasn’t writing poems, having started out as the editor of her high school literary magazine. She had an abiding interest in Carl Jung and studied his ideas for decades.

After recovering from polio at age 4 she became a dancer. She started with ballet as a youngster and then hit the floor again as a competitive ballroom dancer in her 50’s. This led her to the tango. Dancing and teaching tango, she formed deep bonds with teachers and students in the tango world and she traveled to Buenos Aires in pursuit of wider experience.

Feldenkrais was her other passion. Noelle did Feldenkrais activities for many years before becoming a certified practitioner herself in 2020. It gave her pleasure to share her expertise with others and she enjoyed important friendships with her “Feldenfriends”.

Noelle will be sorely missed by her friends and her Caskey survivors including siblings Alexander (Carmen Lozano), Jennifer, Nicholas (Susan Nakamura), nephew Sasha (Marina), niece Vanessa and great nieces Talia and Isabela. She is also survived by her aunt Susan Strong, and uncles Christopher Morss and Richard Clancey and various cousins.

A memorial gathering will be held at 11 am Saturday, September 26 at the Hillside Club at 2286 Cedar St, Berkeley, CA 94709. In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to the Women’s Cancer Resource Center of Berkeley, California.

Those unable to attend in person may request livestream information at rememberingnoelle2026@gmail.com

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