Blanche Healey of Southampton died on July 5 at the Northport home of her daughter, Beth DiTolla, surrounded by family. She was 92.
Born in New York City on April 10, 1916, to Michael and Jeanette Colleran, she graduated from the College of Mount St. Vincent in Riverdale in 1939. An employee of New York Bell Telephone Company for 20 years, she also worked as a commissioner of the State Liquor Authority for 11 years and with a corps of retired telephone company volunteers at the Lake Placid Olympics in 1980.
During the 1980s and 1990s, she traveled extensively with daughter and son-in-law, Jean and Don Mahoney, across Asia and Europe. According to the family she was a wonderful storyteller and had rich material from her many travels. She often told of the trip with her parents and her siblings, Jean, Walter and Jack Healey, to attend the 1932 Olympics in Los Angeles. They crossed the United States by train, traveling with many of the Olympic athletes. The family spent that summer at the home of actress Marion Davies. She also told of the family’s trip to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin. They toured Europe, where her father was unanimously elected president of the International Plasterers Union, which ushered in the creation of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations. At the Berlin Olympics, the family was eyewitness to Adolph Hilter opening the games and Jesse Owens taking home four gold medals.
After spending many summers in Southampton with her husband, Luke Healey, and their family, she became a permanent resident in 1984. An energetic member of the community and a devout parishioner of Our Lady of Poland Church in Southampton, she volunteered with the Board of Elections, the local Democratic Party, the gift shop of the Parrish Art Museum and the Rogers Memorial Library house tours for many years. She also supported many charities, including Covenant House, Birthright, the American Cancer Society and various AIDS foundations. Survivors said last week that she loved the Southampton community and cultivated many great friendships, from her neighbors on Prospect Street to the members of the Southampton Study Club.
She is survived by three daughters and their spouses, Jean and Don Mahoney of Southampton, Beth and Bill DiTolla of Northport, and Blanche and Bob Marrin of Bronxville; a sister, Jean Cruthers, of Southampton; six granddaughters, Jeanne Stewart, Beth MacDonald, Jill Muller, Jeanette Molineaux, Ellen Mahoney, and Jane Andersen; three grandsons, Robert Marrin, Thomas Andersen, and Luke Andersen; and 15 great-grandchildren.
She was predeceased by her husband and two brothers.
In lieu of flowers, donations to Visiting Nurses Service and Hospice, 505 Main Street, Northport, N.Y. 11768, would be appreciated by the family.
on Jul 10, 2008