Jane Gatta

Dr. Jane Benjamin Gatta, a longtime resident of White Plains, died on December 18, following a battle with brain cancer. She was 67.

After she earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology at the University of Michigan, Dr. Benjamin (her professional name) returned to Westchester County, where she’d grown up in Briarcliff Manor. She joined The Counseling Center in Bronxville, a nonprofit group of therapists, and worked there for 25 years—the last five as its clinical director.

In a statement announcing her passing, the center said: “She was always able to feel the feelings, think the thoughts, and find the words to heal the hurt.” The statement added: “Her door, like her heart, was always open.”

Even after her diagnosis in August 2020, Dr. Benjamin continued to see a few patients remotely at their request, according to her sister, Ann Benjamin. Later, when Dr. Benjamin was bedridden and often fatigued, she retained her sense of humor. “She could still make me laugh,” her sister said.

In 1994, Dr. Benjamin married Al Gatta, who was the city administrator of Ann Arbor, MI, when they met. When they moved to New York the following year, Gatta was hired as Scarsdale’s village manager.

In addition to her sister, Dr. Benjamin is survived by her husband, their son, Benjamin, and two stepchildren, Mark Gatta and Alyssa Gatta, from her husband’s previous marriage. A memorial service is expected to be held in January.