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Mary Ann Whitehead
Mary Ann Whitehead of Sag Harbor died peacefully on November 3 at her home in Sag Harbor. She was 85.
She was born in Newark, New Jersey, on August 12, 1938, to Irma Madden Woody and T. Colson Woody.
She was a full-time resident of Sag Harbor for 34 years, after spending summers there since 1945. She also lived in New York City from 1961 to 1989.
She attended and graduated from Orange Public Schools in Orange, New Jersey, where she lived until her marriage to Arch S. Whitehead of New York.
She graduated from Smith College and received her master’s degree from New York University. She taught in New York City public schools until she joined her husband’s company, Arch S. Whitehead Associates, Inc., where she worked until her retirement. After retirement, she went to work part-time in her family’s funeral business, Woody Home For Services, in Orange, New Jersey.
She was a member of Union Baptist Church in Orange, New Jersey, and upon moving to New York, joined the Abyssinian Baptist Church, where she sang in the sanctuary choir. Over the years, she was an officer of the Smith College Club of New York, a member of the Choral Society of the Hamptons, the Metropolitan Chapter of Jack and Jill, the Metropolitan Chapter of the Links, Inc., a trustee of the John Jermain Memorial Library and the Northeasterners, Inc, social club. She was active as a Smith College alumna, serving several terms as class secretary.
Friends and neighbors in the Azurest, Sag Harbor Hills, and Ninevah communities recognize her as one of the original “Beach Potatoes” — there is no higher honor. She was also famous for her love of The New York Times crossword puzzle, “All My Children,” and swimming in Gardiner’s Bay. Receiving one of her big smiles made you happy all day, her family said.
She was predeceased by her husband, Arch; and her son, Clarke. She is survived by her children, Ann Moore, Lynn Whitehead, and Colson Whitehead; her sisters Ida Woody Wells and Irma Francis; her grandchildren, Alexander Moore, Christopher Moore, Richard Goods, Fig Whitehead, and Beckett Whitehead; her sons-in-law Vincent Moore and Jay Jasper; her daughter-in-law, Julie Barer; and other relatives.
A funeral was held at Woody Home For Services in Orange, New Jersey.
Staff Writer on Dec 17, 2023