Mary Gardiner, 57, of Springs and Delray Beach, FL, died of ovarian cancer on Wednesday, Dec. 26. The daughter of Philip Collins and Fanny Gardiner Collins, Mary's grandfather was Winthrop Gardiner, who traced his lineage to
Lion Gardiner who settled in East Hampton in 1639 and purchased the island that bears his name from Wyandanch, the chief sachem of the Montauketts.
Born on March 20, 1950 at
Southampton Hospital, Gardiner attended the Springs School, then Sacred Heart Academy in Sag Harbor, before graduating from East Hampton High School in 1968. She attended the New School in New York City majoring in art history.
Living at an old family homestead in East Hampton with her companion of 17 years, Gina Carvis, the couple eventually purchased a home in Delray Beach, FL in 2000.
A former entertainment director for a Holland America Cruise ship, Mary Gardiner was one of the founding members of the Southampton Horse Show, which grew into the Hampton Classic, and for ten years ran Gardiner's Gourmet on Springs-Fireplace Road. Carvis intends to keep the Pig Pen Produce farm stand running that her companion began.
A member of the Daughters of the American Revolution for 42 years, Gardiner first ran for East Hampton Town Trustee in 1997, and was re-elected in 1999, 2001, and 2003. Declining to run in 2005, she opted to serve on the Three Mile Harbor and Aquaculture committees for the Trustees. Instrumental in efforts to farm-raise fish for stocking local waters, Mary supported increasing the number of winter flounder and blowfish in local waters. Formerly with the East Hampton Marine Patrol, she was still a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary since 1982.
She is survived by her companion, Gina Carvis, her mother, sister and an uncle,
David Gardiner of Cape Cod, MA, and a number of nephews.
Services are being conducted by Yardley & Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton, and visiting hours will be held Friday, Jan. 4, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., and 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., with a service at 12 noon on Saturday, Jan. 5, at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in East Hampton. There will be a reception following the service at the Springs Firehouse from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Memorial donations have been suggested to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton-Riverhead Road, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978.
Editor's Note:
Mary Gardiner's spirit, be it at a local softball game or Trustee meeting, was vital and contagious. Always ready for whatever was happening, she livened many a gathering and will be remembered so.
