Dr. Susan Whiting Shanok, of New York City and Chilmark, died early in the morning on Tuesday, May 26.

Susan moved to New York from Peabody after attending college in Boston, then received her bachelor’s degree and a doctorate from NYU. In 1974, Susan was a contributor to Woman’s World magazine.

She was a practicing psychoanalyst and international mediator, and an active member on the board of the National Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis where she served as president from 1992 to 1994.

Susan worked as a divorce mediator, notably with LGBTQ couples before their unions were recognized by New York. She was well respected by her patients and colleagues, who praised her insight and dedication.

If someone admired them, Susan would generously give away the earrings she was wearing. She was always willing to lend her expertise to help a stranger or friend to solve a problem and found the bright side to almost any situation.

While working as the original “galley girl” at the Menemsha Galley, when restaurant still had a counter inside, she spilled an entire bowl of hot soup on the actor James Cagney, known to the locals as Jimmy, and quickly responded with, “don’t worry Mr. Cagney, I’ll get you another bowl of soup.”

She and a friend got lost one night driving around Berlin in 1989 and figured they could find their way by following a growing crowd of people, carrying ladders and hammers, all headed in one direction. After stumbling upon the fall of the Berlin Wall, they celebrated with the locals as East and West Germany were reunited.

Before the invention of the internet, Susan struck up conversations with fellow passengers on planes and arranged house exchanges with her home on Middle Road, which allowed her and her family to explore foreign countries and form lifelong friendships with strangers.

In a ritual begun in the 1950s to extend post-shift dump trips from the Galley, Susan enjoyed taking a final spin around the dock, a pastime she continued for the rest of her life. She will be dearly missed by family and friends.

Susan is predeceased by her son, Gabriel Shanok. She is survived by her husband, William Shanok, to whom she was married for 56 years; her children Tory Dolan, Sarah Kitchens and Tovah Shanok; and her five grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Visiting Nurse Association of Cape Cod-Martha’s Vineyard.