Obituary for Eve Ellen Cutter (Nissenbaum)
Eve Ellen [Nissenbaum] Cutter died peacefully of age-related complications in her home in Rockport, MA on Feb. 13, 2023, surrounded by children and her soulmate and partner of 65 years, Dr. Philip D. Cutter. In addition to her husband, she is survived by her four children, Amy Cutter, Martha Cutter, Michael Cutter, and David Cutter; her daughter-in-law Julie Cutter and her son-in-law Peter Linehan; her four grandchildren, Brittany Cutter, Danielle Cutter, Alice Cutter, and Zachary Cutter; and her two great grandchildren, Julie Rivelli and Jenna Rivelli. At the time of her death she was 86, having just celebrated her birthday three weeks prior surrounded by her family. She was predeceased by her mother, Nettie Farber Nissenbaum, her father, David Nissenbaum, her sister Janice Polikoff, and her grandson Noah Cutter.
As a girl growing up in Somerville, Eve loved music, the arts, and above all else pets. She had a cat named Rusty but begged and pleaded with her mother to get her a dog. Eve’s mother Nettie was not fond of dogs, but finally gave in, and Eve obtained her first dog Prince; thus began a lifelong passion. Over the course of her life, she would lovingly raise more than twenty dogs, fifteen cats, six horses, and miscellaneous rabbits, guinea pigs, fish, and even turtles. She had a lifelong fervor for dog training and will be warmly recollected for helping many people on the North Shore with their problem dogs. She was an avid horseback rider, musician, and sailor; however, her sailing ended after many years due to seasickness. She created vibrant art in her photographs, paintings, and sculpture. She raised many champion dogs and competed with them in agility, obedience, and nose work, and won multiple blue ribbons. Eve was also a lover of the arts and played piano beautifully all her life, up until a week before her death, filling the family’s home daily with Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, and other stunning works of classical music.
However, Eve’s greatest passion was for the raising of her four children and the care of her devoted husband, Philip Cutter. A home-cooked meal was always on the table for the family, and Eve even learned to bake fancy cakes in the shape of various animals for each of her children’s birthdays. She was also an adventurous soul and companion to Phil on his many adventures. In 1966 when Phil completed his residency in child psychiatry, he was offered the chance to serve in the Air Force as a Captain and Directory of the USAFE (United States Airforce in Europe) Child Guidance Clinic serving the dependent children of Air Force personnel in Germany. At the time Eve had children aged two, four, and six, yet she gamely joined up with Phil for a three-year odyssey which entailed working and living in a foreign country, trying to educate her children in a German school system, learning a foreign language., and even having a fourth child while the couple was stationed there. The base had strict regulations about women’s dress codes, and ever a rebel, when Eve went to a movie theatre on base dressed in a long raincoat and jeans and was told she could not enter in pants, she simply removed her pants and used the raincoat as a skirt. Her four children were raised with great love; they excelled in school, work, or both. Phil, a renowned and successful psychiatrist at the Addison Gilbert Clinic in Gloucester, MA helped countless individuals with his work, and often said that none of his success would have been possible without his devoted wife and companion, who not only raised four children, but helped host numerous social events related to being a successful working professional. Eve had put aside her own education to raise her children, but at the age of 49 returned to school and completed her BS in psychology at Tufts in 1985. For many years she was a successful pharmaceutical representative for McNeil, the makers of Tylenol.
Eve was a great philanthropist and with her husband Phil supported many charitable organizations on the North Shore. Dear to both Phil’s and Eve’s hearts was the Rockport Chamber Music Association; the couple were early members of this group and fund-raised indefatigably for its new building, the Shalin Liu Performance Center. Many associated with Rockport Music say that the gem of Rockport, a gleaming performing arts center, could never have been built without Phil and Eve’s huge commitment to this project. Equally important was the couple’s association with Temple Ahavat Achim in Gloucester MA; the couple have been members there for more than forty years and both are past Temple Presidents. The beloved Temple building was destroyed by the flames of the eight-alarm Middle Street fire on Dec. 15, 2007; Eve and Phil not only rushed to the rescue that night, salvaging cherished taluses and Torahs, but also spearheaded the campaign to create a new, modernized sanctuary for worship and schooling. Again, many attributed the beautiful new edifice to Phil and Eve’s generosity and dedication to Temple Ahavat Achim.
A lover of the arts and of all things animal, Eve will be greatly missed by the numerous individuals she touched through her dog training, her charity work, and her vibrant personality. Eve never met a person she did not want to talk to and always gave good advice and counsel to mothers, people with problem pets, and, of course, to her husband and children. Most of all, Eve will be missed by her friends at Temple Ahavat Achim and at Rockport Music, her four children and four grandchildren, and her devoted husband Phil.
Arrangements: A service will be held for Eve at Temple Ahavat Achim 86 Middle St, Gloucester on Wednesday Feb. 15 at 1:00 PM, followed by a private graveside burial. All are invited to join the Cutter family afterwards at 4:00 PM at the Temple for Shiva and refreshments in honor of Eve. A second Shiva night and visiting hours will be held on Thursday Feb. 16 at the Cutter home on 20 Doctor’s Run in Rockport MA from 4:00 to 7:00 PM with a minyan at 5:00; all friends and family of Eve and Phil are welcome. In lieu of flowers, donations in Eve’s memory may be made to Temple Ahavat Achim or Rockport Music: https://www.taagloucester.org/payment.php; https://rockportmusic.org/ways-to-give/.
As a girl growing up in Somerville, Eve loved music, the arts, and above all else pets. She had a cat named Rusty but begged and pleaded with her mother to get her a dog. Eve’s mother Nettie was not fond of dogs, but finally gave in, and Eve obtained her first dog Prince; thus began a lifelong passion. Over the course of her life, she would lovingly raise more than twenty dogs, fifteen cats, six horses, and miscellaneous rabbits, guinea pigs, fish, and even turtles. She had a lifelong fervor for dog training and will be warmly recollected for helping many people on the North Shore with their problem dogs. She was an avid horseback rider, musician, and sailor; however, her sailing ended after many years due to seasickness. She created vibrant art in her photographs, paintings, and sculpture. She raised many champion dogs and competed with them in agility, obedience, and nose work, and won multiple blue ribbons. Eve was also a lover of the arts and played piano beautifully all her life, up until a week before her death, filling the family’s home daily with Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart, and other stunning works of classical music.
However, Eve’s greatest passion was for the raising of her four children and the care of her devoted husband, Philip Cutter. A home-cooked meal was always on the table for the family, and Eve even learned to bake fancy cakes in the shape of various animals for each of her children’s birthdays. She was also an adventurous soul and companion to Phil on his many adventures. In 1966 when Phil completed his residency in child psychiatry, he was offered the chance to serve in the Air Force as a Captain and Directory of the USAFE (United States Airforce in Europe) Child Guidance Clinic serving the dependent children of Air Force personnel in Germany. At the time Eve had children aged two, four, and six, yet she gamely joined up with Phil for a three-year odyssey which entailed working and living in a foreign country, trying to educate her children in a German school system, learning a foreign language., and even having a fourth child while the couple was stationed there. The base had strict regulations about women’s dress codes, and ever a rebel, when Eve went to a movie theatre on base dressed in a long raincoat and jeans and was told she could not enter in pants, she simply removed her pants and used the raincoat as a skirt. Her four children were raised with great love; they excelled in school, work, or both. Phil, a renowned and successful psychiatrist at the Addison Gilbert Clinic in Gloucester, MA helped countless individuals with his work, and often said that none of his success would have been possible without his devoted wife and companion, who not only raised four children, but helped host numerous social events related to being a successful working professional. Eve had put aside her own education to raise her children, but at the age of 49 returned to school and completed her BS in psychology at Tufts in 1985. For many years she was a successful pharmaceutical representative for McNeil, the makers of Tylenol.
Eve was a great philanthropist and with her husband Phil supported many charitable organizations on the North Shore. Dear to both Phil’s and Eve’s hearts was the Rockport Chamber Music Association; the couple were early members of this group and fund-raised indefatigably for its new building, the Shalin Liu Performance Center. Many associated with Rockport Music say that the gem of Rockport, a gleaming performing arts center, could never have been built without Phil and Eve’s huge commitment to this project. Equally important was the couple’s association with Temple Ahavat Achim in Gloucester MA; the couple have been members there for more than forty years and both are past Temple Presidents. The beloved Temple building was destroyed by the flames of the eight-alarm Middle Street fire on Dec. 15, 2007; Eve and Phil not only rushed to the rescue that night, salvaging cherished taluses and Torahs, but also spearheaded the campaign to create a new, modernized sanctuary for worship and schooling. Again, many attributed the beautiful new edifice to Phil and Eve’s generosity and dedication to Temple Ahavat Achim.
A lover of the arts and of all things animal, Eve will be greatly missed by the numerous individuals she touched through her dog training, her charity work, and her vibrant personality. Eve never met a person she did not want to talk to and always gave good advice and counsel to mothers, people with problem pets, and, of course, to her husband and children. Most of all, Eve will be missed by her friends at Temple Ahavat Achim and at Rockport Music, her four children and four grandchildren, and her devoted husband Phil.
Arrangements: A service will be held for Eve at Temple Ahavat Achim 86 Middle St, Gloucester on Wednesday Feb. 15 at 1:00 PM, followed by a private graveside burial. All are invited to join the Cutter family afterwards at 4:00 PM at the Temple for Shiva and refreshments in honor of Eve. A second Shiva night and visiting hours will be held on Thursday Feb. 16 at the Cutter home on 20 Doctor’s Run in Rockport MA from 4:00 to 7:00 PM with a minyan at 5:00; all friends and family of Eve and Phil are welcome. In lieu of flowers, donations in Eve’s memory may be made to Temple Ahavat Achim or Rockport Music: https://www.taagloucester.org/payment.php; https://rockportmusic.org/ways-to-give/.