August 23, 2019
With sadness, we share the passing of Signhild 鈥淪igny鈥 (Meincke) Tamm, age 74, who died on August 23, 2019. Mrs. Tamm served on the faculty/staff of the Boston University Marine Program at the MBL from 1979-1986, and was an independent researcher at MBL from the University of Wisconsin in 1978.
Below is from an obituary provided by her husband, Sidney Tamm, also a longtime affiliate of the MBL.
Born聽and raised in聽Eckernfoerde, Germany,聽Signy聽Tamm was the daughter of the late Dr. Gustav W. K. Meincke and聽Marianne聽(Magnusson)聽Meincke.聽Signy鈥檚 childhood in Germany included travels to Sweden, where she had family, and taking part in one of the first postwar student exchanges between Germany and France. Signy was passionate about science and the natural world. She studied biology at the University of Tuebingen in Germany in the 1960s, and, while working at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, she met Dr.聽Sidney L. Tamm, a cell biologist, and they married in 1969.
The Tamm family moved聽to聽Cape Cod聽in 1979. Signy聽pursued a career as an electron microscopist at聽the Boston University Marine Program at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, making remarkable discoveries in cell motility and the biology of comb jellies. She switched career paths in her 50s to pursue her longstanding interest in psychology. She received a master鈥檚 degree in counseling psychology from Lesley University, becoming聽a counseling psychologist聽at聽SMOC Behavioral Healthcare聽in Framingham, MA.
In addition to a home in Falmouth, MA, she and Dr. Tamm also had a home in Newton, MA, for 17 years, and she filled her homes with plants, especially orchids, and she always had a beloved cat or two to snuggle with. She enjoyed the best of both worlds, exploring the conservation lands around Falmouth and Newton and also travels further afield, including exploration and hiking in the Berkshires, Maine鈥檚 Bold Coast, the coast of Australia, and the Gaspe Peninsula in Canada.
Signy is survived by聽Sidney, her husband of fifty years;聽her two children聽Peter (Carrie) Tamm and Ingrid (Max) Grudin; her grandchildren Jonas, Matteus, and Elizabeth;聽and her聽two brothers聽Hans-Magnus and Gustav Meincke, and聽their families.聽Her friends and family deeply miss her warmth and generosity; her enthusiasm for knitting socks for everyone; her keen botanical knowledge and unerring sense of where to find the best wild berries; her enthusiasm for good German chocolate and delicacies; her love of books; and her wise and enduring counsel.
Signy鈥檚 family wishes to thank VNA Hospice of Cape Cod for their care and compassion and her many friends who supported her through her last journey. A stone bench honoring her can be found on Falmouth鈥檚 Salt Pond, where her friends and family will find solace in the natural beauty there that she so loved. A private celebration of Signy鈥檚 life is being planned.聽Donations in her honor can be made to the Joslin Diabetes Center and to the Salt Pond Area Bird Sanctuaries, causes close to her heart.