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Barbara Wyatt, formerly of Southampton, died on February 6, 2017, in Potomac, Maryland. She was 86.
Born in 1931 to John and Rose (Vollkommer) Filasky of Brookville, Ms. Wyatt grew up on the Filasky Farm in Brookville with her three sisters and three brothers. The 100-acre farm was a major local agricultural producer of potatoes, pumpkins, cabbage, and other crops. She graduated from Oyster Bay High School in 1949 and the following year married William Wyatt, a meteorologist in the U.S. Navy. They built their home in Glen Head with the help of family and friends, and had three children. Both Ms. Wyatt and her husband were avid bowlers. While her children were young, she continued to work with her family at the farm. At Christmastime, local residents would visit to peruse wreaths and trees, and gather around the wood stove to warm their hands and drink cider.
In 1968, Ms. Wyatt took over Hilltop Farms farmstand in Glen Head from her sister Dolores. Her sister lived at the top of the hill on Glen Head Road, while Ms. Wyatt lived at the bottom of it, so they rolled the entire farmstand building down the hill while the town watched. She sold fruit and seasonal produce from the family farm and other local producers.
In 1987, Ms. Wyatt closed Hilltop Farms and moved to Southampton to live near her little brother, Fred Filasky. In 2002, she moved to Maryland to live across the street from her daughter, Joan. In her retirement, she enjoyed knitting and puzzles, and maintained many plants, both fruit-bearing and ornamental. She also participated in bowling leagues until her final months.
Ms. Wyatt was a consummate maker and tinkerer. Every item of clothing and furniture she owned was edited, adjusted, or improved in some way. Using a scrollsaw in her basement, she built an elaborate to-scale replica of the since-razed Filasky farmhouse and handcrafted the furniture for each room. It was her propensity for tinkering and early life on the farm that gave Ms. Wyatt her green thumb.
She is survived by three children, all of whom grew up in Glen Head; Linda Greene and husband Dick of Kentucky, Joan Alderman and husband Trevor Hewick of Maryland, and Jack Wyatt and wife Maria of California. She is also survived by three grandchildren, Kimberly Penix, Heather Greene, and Julie Anderson; two great-grandchildren, Sage Penix and Taylor Greene-Epperson; two sisters, June Burket and Dolores Somelofski; and a brother, Raymond Filasky; and 20 nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by two brothers, Jack and Fred Filasky; and a sister, Doris Carlson.
A memorial gathering will be held on April 8 at 2 p.m. in Port Washington.
on Feb 20, 2017