Anne Fredey Dies At 85

Anne Fredey

Anne Fredey of Westhampton Beach died at Southampton Hospital on Friday, September 2. She was 85.

Ms. Fredey, a fiercely independent Southern woman with a singular wit, had been evacuated to Southampton Hospital a week earlier as Hurricane Irene approached. An EMT hoping to comfort her as the ambulance took her from her home, where she had been battling cancer under hospice care, asked if she’d like him to sing.

“Only if you can sing ‘Dixie,’” replied Ms. Fredey, who had been raised on a South Carolina dairy farm.

Ms. Fredey, who was determined to leave this earth on her own terms, spent three nights in the hospital, saying virtually nothing and barely acknowledging family. She broke her silence when she was brought back home on the Monday after the storm, promising a Jamaican caregiver with whom she had bonded that they would have a party the following Friday to celebrate the woman’s birthday. Ms. Fredey died that morning.

Born Anne Prince in North Carolina in 1926, the eldest of eight siblings, she tended to her younger sisters on the family farm near Columbia, South Carolina. All that changed when she fell for Colonel Richard B. Fredey, a lifelong Marine and hotelier 25 years her senior, who had served in both world wars. Hotel work took them to Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and New Jersey before the couple settled down in Westhampton Beach, where Colonel Fredey managed the Westhampton Bath & Tennis Club.

In the decade that followed her husband’s death at the age of 100 in 2001, Ms. Fredey continued to be active in the community. She volunteered at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, even after being diagnosed with ovarian and uterine cancer.

As a young woman, Ms. Fredey worked with a designer to create debutante ball gowns and continued to sew beautiful suits and evening wear. She loved to cook and developed an extensive recipe collection. She had a weakness for the “Smokey and the Bandit” movies, was an avid reader of both books and newspapers and enjoyed jigsaw puzzles and needlepoint. One of her final projects was a set of specially designed kneelers that are used for weddings at St. Mark’s, where a private memorial service is planned.

Ms. Fredey is survived by her daughters, Bree Broderick of Westhampton Beach and Leslie Millrod of Coram; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband Colonel Fredey.

Memorial donations may be made to Care to Knit Inc., 1940 Deer Park Ave., Suite 155, Deer Park, NY 11729.

A private memorial service at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Westhampton Beach is planned.