Harriet Robinson Mott Tuthill died on August 27. She was 88.
Born on Christmas Day in 1926, she grew up with her sister, Theda, and her parents, Floyd W. and Emily Spousta Mott, in Eastport. A descendant of Revolutionary War and Civil War veterans, she also was a direct descendant of the Peterson and Robinson families, who, in the early 1820s, established Eastport. Her grandfather, Captain William H. Mott, owned two three-masted schooners, which shipped goods from Eastport to Manhattan. Capt. Mott also opened a bank in Center Moriches.
Ms. Tuthill had graduated from Eastport High School. She experienced at first hand the excitement of Eastport being the white Peking duck capital of the world, as her father was a duck rancher. Since her father also was a professional waterfowl and game guide, she and her sister learned how to shoot and do archery. A child of the Depression, the Hurricane of 1938 and World War II, Ms. Tuthill had many stories to tell.
After marrying George Howard Tuthill, she moved to Hampton Bays and lived on Ponquogue Avenue for 60 years.
For more than 30 years, she and her husband owned and operated Tuts Service Station on Montauk Highway, where she pumped gas, greased cars and polished them, too, always with the motto, “The customer is always right even when they’re wrong.”
Ms. Tuthill and her husband also drove a school bus in Hampton Bays. As recently as last month, she would still meet people who remembered her as their tough-but-fair bus driver.
During her last job as Southampton Town sign inspector, she was known for her efficiency in patrolling yard sale, real estate and portable restaurant signs. Survivors said she is still remembered as “the sign lady.”
Over the years, Ms. Tuthill participated in many organizations including the ladies division of the Southampton Elks Lodge, the Irish American Organization, the Sons of Italy-Michelangelo Lodge, plus many local and Suffolk County Republican women’s groups. Until recently, she was a Republican committee person. She was also an active member of the Southold Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, serving many years as its American flag committee chair.
Ms. Tuthill is survived by her three children, Jay Arvesta McKasty, Kerry Leigh Stamm and Keith S. Tuthill Sr.; three grandchildren, Megan Leigh McGovern, Robert Thomas Stamm and Keith S. Tuthill Jr.; and one great-granddaughter, Morgan Heidi Tuthill.
Memorial donations may be made to the Hampton Bays Beautification Association, Box 682, Hampton Bays, NY 11946, or the Hampton Bays Volunteer Ambulance, 18 Ponquogue Avenue, Hampton Bays, NY 11946.
Funeral arrangements were under the direction of the R.J. O’Shea Funeral Home in Hampton Bays. Visiting was on August 29 and 30.
on Sep 1, 2015