Memorial Service For Jean Collier Wirth Is Set - 27 East

Memorial Service For Jean Collier Wirth Is Set

icon 1 Photo

author on Jun 12, 2018

Jean Collier Wirth

A memorial service for Jean Collier Wirth, who died on January 18, 2018, surrounded by her three sons and her grandson, will be held on Sunday, June 24, at 2 p.m. at Starr Boggs restaurant in Westhampton Beach, on what would have been her 94th birthday.

Born in Ottumwa, Iowa, to Edward and Marguerite Collier, she was a drum majorette for the high school band, turning many heads when dressed in the band uniform. She later headed east, to New York City, in 1945, in search of bigger game.

She graduated from New York University with a bachelor’s degree in the arts. Somewhere in the middle of her independence, a date was arranged by mutual friends with an eligible bachelor, a lawyer, a native New Yorker. Laughter and then love were unavoidable and she married Morris Aaron Wirth on December 21, 1955.

The arts were her constant pursuit and second passion, and she affiliated herself with numerous collectives, including the 1010 Players Theater Group, the Needle and Bobbin Club, and the Isabel O’Neil Foundation for the Art of the Painted Surface.

Survivors said “the life of the spirit also helped define her,” as was evident in her decades long relationship with and worship at the Park Avenue Christian Church.

Charity also played an important role in her life. She was indispensable to the founding of East End Hope for Hospice, and had an instrumental role in the first two designer show houses at Meadowcroft and Kinkora.

Locally, she and her husband were among the founding members of the La Ronde Beach Club, and original investors in their good friend Starr Boggs’s first restaurant.

She was the biological mother of three sons, Bob, Billy, and John, and one grandson, Alec, but, survivors said, it must be noted that she mothered, sheltered, and cared for any and all the wayward types who followed her charismatic boys back to her Park Avenue apartment or the home on Quantuck Bay.

Mrs. Wirth was predeceased by her husband, Morris.

You May Also Like:

The Bus Test

Social media was abuzz last week with a report: An unmarked bus was dropping off adult men in the parking lot of the Macy’s shopping plaza in Hampton Bays. Speculation was rampant, and it largely followed a national narrative about an “invasion” of immigrants ending up in American communities. In fact, there’s little information on what the bus (or buses — there likely were others) was doing. It might have been seasonal workers arriving for the season, but it could have been something innocuous, like a private bus trip returning home. Police were called, but as one town official pointed ... 1 May 2024 by Editorial Board

Terrible Optics

Westhampton Beach Village officials and Police Chief Steven McManus need a lesson in optics. The revelation last week that a body camera video recorded during the investigation of an off-duty Village Police officer who rolled his truck during a single-car accident in November 2021 was not released to the public for close to a year, despite numerous requests from The Press that went unanswered for seven months, sends the wrong signal about the village’s commitment to keeping the public informed. It was only after a request from an attorney on behalf of The Press that a copy of the video ... by Editorial Board

A Costly Hire

Permitting public employees to collect a six-figure pension while simultaneously collecting a six-figure salary is one of the reasons why New York is such a high-tax state. Though the Village of Southampton took it a step further: It wasn’t enough for the new village administrator to receive a $165,000 salary on top of a $120,000 New York Police Department pension — the Village Board just gave Administrator Anthony Carter a $50,000 pay bump, retroactive to when he started in November, in lieu of receiving village health insurance and other benefits. When a retiree already receiving taxpayer-funded health care goes back ... by Staff Writer

Rally for Increased Train Service Coming to Hampton Bays LIRR Station

Elected officials on the South Fork, Long Island Rail Road passengers, and leaders in education, ... by Christopher Walsh

Southampton Boys, Girls Relay Teams Are Picking Up Steam

Southampton could have its relay teams back. Historically, both the boys and girls track programs ... by Drew Budd

Search for Body Parts in Gilgo Beach Investigation Expanded to North Sea

The search for body parts related to an investigation into homicides allegedly committed by a ... by Christopher Walsh

Historic Surfboat Coming to Tiana Life Saving Station

The Tiana Life Saving Station in Hampton Bays, the 1871 structure that underwent a renovation ... by Christopher Walsh

State Sets Aside Funding for Affordable Housing at College Campus

The State Legislature on April 22 approved Governor Kathy Hochul’s request for $600 million in funding for several affordable housing programs, including one that would permit the construction of such units on the Stony Brook Southampton campus. But the celebration has to be put on hold for now, according to Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., because a related bill that would authorize the actual expenditure of the allocated funds has yet to pass. Thiele said he was optimistic that authorization bill could be passed before the end of the session on June 6. “The legislature had a lot of questions,” ... by Stephen J. Kotz

Southampton Town Board Votes To Establish Riverside Sewer District

The Southampton Town Board voted unanimously at its April 23 meeting to establish the Riverside ... by Christopher Walsh

Bel-Aire Cove Motel One Step Closer to Demolition

The Southampton Town Board will hold a public hearing on May 14 at 1 p.m. ... by Christopher Walsh