1 Photo
Mary Claire Reiser
Mary Claire Reiser of Sag Harbor died peacefully at her home in Sag Harbor on May 5, surrounded by her family. She was 88.
The daughter of Helen Lawless (nee Wurster) and John Lawless, she was born in Newark, New Jersey, on February 19, 1935. She graduated from Caldwell College in 1955 with a degree in English literature. She was the president of the debate team, the editor of the yearbook and a writer for the school paper.
Family was a pillar of her life, her family said, and she began hers with her beloved husband, Robert Reiser, who she married in 1955.
Together, in 54 years of marriage until Bob’s death, they had six children: Mark, Robert, John (Jack), Martin, Mary, and Peter. Her family grew with four children-in-law: Bernadette, Linda, Victoria and Walter.
The couple enjoyed 11 grandchildren: Erin, Tim, Dan, Myke, Brendan, Bridget, Kathleen, Tom, Walt, Mary Claire and Rob.
And she became “GiGi,” a loving great-grandmother to nine great-grandchildren: Harrison, Henry, Annie, Walt, Pat, Hailey, Henry, Josh and Lauren.
The couple saw the world together, traveling to all seven continents. They learned cooking in Italy, skied and rode horses through the West, and sailed the Caribbean — Bob at the helm, and Mary on the mainsheet.
Along with her family, she served her community and her church with great devotion. She was a longtime volunteer at the Sag Harbor Food Pantry and the East End Hospice, a Eucharistic minister at St. Andrew’s, served on the Architecture Review Board and was a Friend of the John Jermain Memorial Library. She received the St. Agnes Medal of Service for her work for the parish.
She loved dancing, shopping and the Sunday crossword. She sailed the world with her husband and she built a loving home. She will be missed, but she made it home. And she’s sailing and dancing again, hand in hand and wing to wing with her husband.
A wake was held on May 8 at Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor. A funeral Mass was held at St. Andrew’s on May 9.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Cormaria Retreat Center.
Staff Writer on May 15, 2023