Obituary of Carmen Schechter

Maria del Carmen Gómez Becerra was born in Spain on July 26, 1935. She was the daughter of Rafael Gómez, a tradesman from Córdoba, and Carmen Becerra, of the coal-mining village Peñarroya-Pueblonuevo.  Carmen came to the U.S. on a work visa in 1958, and lived in White Plains, New York, with a Spanish uncle who had immigrated during WWI. Carmen worked and sent money home until her parents’ deaths in the 1970s.  Carmen met her husband Alan Schechter at Optimized Devices Incorporated in Thornwood, where she worked soldering circuit boards and he worked as an electrical engineer. They married in June, 1963. Carmen was a self-taught artist and left us numerous still life oil paintings and landscapes to remember her by.  She was also an expert seamstress and made clothes for her daughters, slipcovers and drapes for her home, and beautiful costumes for dance recitals, plays, and Halloween. She became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1968. Carmen lived most of her life in Peekskill, where she attended St. Columbanus Church and Graymoor Friars.  She made lasting friendships while employed at Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield in Yorktown Heights. Carmen is survived by her sister, Rafaella Gómez Botias, also of Córdoba, as well as her four children, three grandchildren, and husband Alan of 55 years. She passed away peacefully with her adoring husband by her side on September 13, 2018.

Visitation will be held on Friday, September 21, from 3:00pm to 6:00pm at the Joseph F. Nardone Funeral Home, 414 Washington St, Peekskill, NY 10566.

Chapel service will begin on Saturday, September 22 at 10:00am at the funeral home.

Interment to follow at Kensico Cemetery in Valhalla.