Marny S. Emanuel
CAMDEN - Marny Schonegevel Emanuel died peacefully at The Gardens, Quarry Hill, on October 22, 2016. She was 93.
Marny Catherine van Nymegen Schonegevel was born in Vence, France, on June 19, 1923. She was a Dutch citizen, daughter of Ann Marion Martin Schonegevel and Dionys van Nymegen Schonegevel.
Marny grew up in The Netherlands, Germany, Java, Borneo, Argentina, and Curacao. At the age of 17, she was sent to the United States to The Baldwin School in Bryn Mawr, PA, to learn English and continue her studies. She also attended House in the Pines School in Norton, MA. She was fluent in Spanish, French, Dutch, German, and English.
In 1942, Marny was introduced to John Paul Riddle, co-founder of the Embry-Riddle School of Aviation, which had contracted with the U.S. Government to train pilots for the United States Army Air Corps and American allies during WWII. Marny enrolled in flight school and upon receiving her pilot’s license was hired to provide basic flight training for Navy pilots at the former Chapman Field on Biscayne Bay in Coral Gables, FL. Along with other women pilots, who became lifelong friends, Marny flew a variety of aircraft.
During this period, Paul Riddle introduced Marny to Albert Emanuel II, the son of Victor Emanuel of AVCO corporation, a longtime friend and business associate. Albert Emanuel had been a pilot since age 12, but increasingly poor eyesight had grounded him before the outbreak of war. When President Franklin Roosevelt declared war on December 8, 1941, Mr. Emanuel memorized the test chart and was able to pass the Army Air Corps eye exam, allowing him into the air service, where he was eventually in charge of aircraft maintenance.
Marny had hoped to pursue a career as a pilot in the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), newly formed in September 1942, but applicants had to be American citizens and she was still a Dutch citizen, so she was unable to join. Marny became an U.S. citizen after the war.
Albert Emanuel married Marny on September 15, 1947, in Port Washington, NY. Over the years, they lived in Dayton, OH; Richmond, IN; Cincinnati, OH; and Wynnewood, PA, raising three sons. In 1966, they built a house on Spruce Head Island, ME, spending the summers there. They and their two younger sons developed a strong interest in sailing and spent most of their time sailing and racing their boat Kolibri (Dutch for hummingbird). They were longtime members of the Camden Yacht Club and on weekends they would recruit crew from students of the Camden Yacht Club sailing program. Having teenagers as the dominant crew and girls as a significant percentage of that crew was unique at that time among Kolibri’s competitors.
In later years, the Emanuels lived in Vero Beach, FL, and later in Kilmarnock, VA. They traveled by boat from Maine to Florida every year from 1977 to 1997. They moved to The Highlands in Topsham, ME, in 2000, and to Camden in 2007.
Mrs. Emanuel was predeceased by her husband, Albert, who died in 2007, and her two older brothers, Thomas van Nymegen and William Vandersteel. She is survived by three sons: Barton Woodruff (Woody) Emanuel and his wife Carole, of Camden, ME; Kerry Andrew Emanuel, and his wife Susan, and son, David Tristan, of Lexington, MA; and Geoffrey Scott Emanuel, his wife, Laurie, and sons, Andrew Michael and William James, of Falmouth, ME; nieces Marny Minarsch of Maitland, FL; Shari Hodgson of Winter Park, FL; Marion Vandersteel of Delray Beach, FL; Ann Vandersteel of Tequesta, FL; and Tina Vandersteel of Cambridge, MA; nephews Stoddard Vandersteel of Marblehead, MA; William Vandersteel of Austin, TX; Kim van Nymegen of Winter Park, FL; and Remco van Santen of Perth, Australia.
The family wishes to express its deepest thanks to the entire staff of The Gardens at Quarry Hill for the professional, exceptional, and loving care of Marny during the last year.
A memorial service will be held in Camden, ME, next spring.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to the Pen Bay Waldo Healthcare Foundation (https://www.penbayhealthcare.org/support-pen-bay/), 22 White Street, Rockland, ME 04841, 207-921-6713.
Condolences and memories may be shared with the Emanuel family at longfuneralhomecamden.com. Arrangements are with Long Funeral Home & Cremation Service, Camden.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Marny Emanuel, please visit our Heartfelt Sympathies Store.