Mary Cumming Tiedmann Dies On October 7

Mary Cumming Tiedemann

Mary Cumming Tiedemann of East Hampton died on October 7 at Stony Brook University Hospital. She was 77.

Born in 1935 and raised in Summit, New Jersey, she was the oldest daughter of Elizabeth Lord Cumming and Robert William Cumming Jr. She graduated from Kent Place School in Summit and attended Vassar College in Poughkeepsie.

She married Carl Hans Tiedemann in 1959, and they had four children, whom they raised in New York City. A love of nature and the outdoors brought them to East Hampton, where they bought the family home that Ms. Tiedemann lived in until her death.

Ms. Tiedemann loved the arts and enjoyed painting, photography and collecting crafts from around the world. In the 1980s, she was a partner in the Elements Gallery, a craft gallery on Madison Avenue. She also loved to use her artistic sensibility in designing gardens. Every residence of hers had beautiful gardens that she had designed and implemented. Later in life, she became very involved in the Exuma Foundation on the Island of Exuma, where she had a home. The foundation helped start a learning center for Bahamian children providing them with essential educational materials, and Ms. Tiedemann felt very connected to this cause. She helped design the garden outside of the center, converting it from a dry, arid patch of soil and rubble into a beautiful lush oasis. The garden was dedicated to her in 2007, and is called “Mary’s Garden.”

She was involved with several charitable organizations, among them were the Garden Conservancy and the Garden Club of East Hampton. She was also a big supporter of the arts in whatever form, having a particular passion for music.

Ms. Tiedmann is survived by her four children, Hans Tiedemann and Mark Tiedemann of California, Leigh Tiedemann of Massachusetts and Michael Tiedemann of Manhattan, and their respective spouses. She is also survived by her 10 grandchildren; and her two sisters, Elizabeth Dartt and Jean Fordyce, both of Massachusetts.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, October 20, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Luke’s Church at 18 James Lane in East Hampton, and a remembrance service will be held in Manhattan on October 22 at 5 p.m.

Memorial donations may be made to The Exuma Foundation, 5885 Landerbrook Drive, Suite 300, Mayfield Heights, OH 44124.