Friends mourn nanny’s death
GREENWICH — “She was family to us.” That is how one family remembered Carolyn Tarpey, as the community celebrated the life of the Greenwich nanny who died Saturday night after battling esophageal cancer and COVID-19 concurrently.
She was 53. Tarpey died at Yale New Haven Hospital, where she had been in a medically induced coma and on a ventilator for almost a month.
Tarpey is survived by her 14-year-old son, Henry, a student at Eagle Hill School in Greenwich, who had an unbreakable bond with his mother, friends said Monday.
“Carolyn has basically been a second mom for me, and I wholeheartedly believe that I wouldn’t be the person I am without her,” said David Beeson, whom Tarpey took care of for 13 years as his nanny.
“She was our Mary Poppins.”
Joan Andrews
“Her kindness, generosity, and compassion are imprinted on me forever.”
Friends described Tarpey as kind, generous, compassionate, strong, loyal and devoted to caring for her
son. The community had rallied around the single mother in recent weeks by raising money for her medical expenses and for Henry’s future.
Last August, Tarpey began having difficulty swallowing and keeping food down. After several doctor visits and procedures, she was diagnosed with esophageal cancer. She was prescribed chemotherapy and radiation treatments just after New Year’s Day.
She made it almost halfway into the eight-week cycle of treatments but had to stop when she contracted COVID-19, and then pneumonia.
After five weeks at Greenwich Hospital, Tarpey was moved to the COVID-19 intensive care unit. Shortly after, she was transferred to the intensive care unit at Yale New Haven Hospital, said Joan Andrews, Tarpey’s friend and employer of nearly 30 years.
“Carolyn was my everything,” Andrews said Monday. “She never took a vacation in the seven years she was our nanny. She worked with extraordinary energy, love, enthusiasm and knowledge. She did it for us.”
Tarpey went above and beyond, organizing holiday parties and researching the best schools, summer camps and after-school programs for the children, Andrews said.
“She was our Mary Poppins,” Andrews said of Tarpey. “She was family to us. I could travel and sleep well all those years, knowing my boys were safe, happy and protected.”
Four women who had known Tarpey for years met at Bruce Park earlier this month to share her story and rally support through a GoFundMe page created for Tarpey while she was
battling COVID-19 and cancer.
The page will remain active as a memorial to Tarpey and in support of her son, Henry, and his future.
By Monday afternoon, the GoFundMe page had raised about $149,000 of the $250,000 goal, with support from more than 800 donors.
During her hospitalization, Tarpey expressed concern for her son, Henry.
“Right now, he is staying very strong,” Andrews said. “I hear he’s doing well. The families watching him know him well. He has a lot of love and support from them.”
Becoming a nanny and a mother was a longtime dream for Tarpey, Andrews said.
In 2007, several people, including Andrews and Amanda Vigale, a friend for 25 years, accompanied Tarpey to adopt Henry in Kazakhstan. Vigale as well as Lea Leavitt-Arpell and Stephanie Karp, other friends of Tarpey, were so inspired that they adopted their own children from Kazakhstan.
“Words alone cannot express the sadness I feel,” said Vigale. “We have shared in such lifechanging events in each other’s lives.
“I will continue that for her
Four women who had known Tarpey for years met at Bruce Park earlier this month to share her story and rally support through a GoFundMe page created for Tarpey while she was battling COVID-19 and cancer.
son Henry,” Vigale said. “He will know all these wonderful memories that he and his mom shared and will always know how loved he was by her and will continue to be loved by all her friends and family.”
Carolyn’s mother, Ellen Tarpey,
and her sister, Kimberly Saetta, said they’re thankful for the community members for their support.
“Carolyn was a very special person and a wonderful mother to her son,” Saetta said. “She will be in our hearts forever.”
Funeral services will likely be held after Easter.
To donate to the GoFundMe campaign, visit https://bit.ly/3rBkznf