Letters

Our community has lost one of its brightest lights, kindest souls and most devoted champions of nature.

Tony Garro, who passed away in February, was such a man. Sag Harbor was blessed when he and his wife, Joan, decided to make this their home after his retirement as a history teacher.

He never stopped teaching, though. In each and every one of my conversations with Tony over the nearly 20 years that I knew him, I learned something new. Maybe the name of a wildflower in the forest. Maybe a tidbit of history from the Revolutionary War on one of his informative walks through the village. Or a scary detail of a local ghost as he led us through our storied town at Halloween.

Tony was tireless in keeping the local woodland paths open and available to our community. He’d actually mow walking trails to make sure they were accessible to hikers and families. He advocated for the conservation of wild places and habitats, whether passionately speaking at Town Board hearings or educating adults and children on his many guided hikes.

He had a very warm place in his heart for my family’s former lands, now called The Anna and Daniel Mulvihill Preserve and The William Mulvihill Preserve. He vigorously advocated for their preservation due not only to their tremendous beauty but for their biodiversity and ecological significance.

He knew my late father, William (Bill) Mulvihill, very well — also a retired history teacher, avid walker and nature lover. Tony spent hours hiking with me after my dad passed away to identify just the right glacial erratic on which to install a plaque honoring him, because my dad purchased the land in the Great Swamp simply to protect it.

I have always been so grateful for Tony’s help. He even installed a bench in my dad’s honor up on Hoppy Toad Hill, in The Anna and Daniel Mulvihill Preserve, where my dad was raised, with the support of the Southampton Trails Preservation Society, an incomparable group that always has championed these preserves and many others.

Tony was highly intelligent, interested in a thousand things and always learning. He loved to laugh and had a great sense of humor. He adored his family. He was gentle, warm and enthusiastic. He always managed to make one feel like they were very important and of value to him.

Rest in peace, Tony, and thank you. You’ve helped protect habitats for uncountable species for the future, the groundwater beneath them and our beautiful forests.

You’ve made Sag Harbor a richer place, and you deeply and indelibly touched our hearts.

Mary Ann Mulvihill-Decker

Sag Harbor