Former Westhampton Beach summer resident Conchita “Connie” Merlino Degnan of West Palm Beach, Florida, died on Thursday, May 28, following a long illness. She was 89.
Mrs. Degnan was born in Trenton, New Jersey, to Marguerita and Pasquale Merlino. She attended Trenton public schools and showed an early talent for fashion design. She moved to Hollywood where she worked in the wardrobe departments at various studios, eventually becoming the dresser for Elizabeth Taylor during the filming of “National Velvet.”
Moving up the coast, she worked for a time as a hostess at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco when the United Nations was founded there in 1945. She then made her way to Las Vegas, where she was a chorus dancer at several casinos. There, she caught the eye of band leader Xavier Cugat who hired her to sing with his band. Going by the single name of “Conchita,” she performed in nightclubs in Cuba and throughout Florida.
Returning to Trenton to be close to her mother and brother Joseph, Mrs. Degnan designed wardrobes for private clients then opened a retail shop called Fashion Forecast, which specialized in couture wedding dresses, cocktail dresses and custom swimwear.
After several years her fashion work took her to New York, where she became the fashion associate on several early television game shows, including “The Big Payoff” from 1955 to 1958, in charge of the gifts given to contestants. It was during that time she met advertising executive Donald Degnan, and the couple married in 1955.
The couple lived on the Upper East Side during most of their marriage, with weekends in Westhampton Beach. They raised two daughters, Lissa and Diana, and stayed in the fields of fashion and television for many years.
Mrs. Degnan had a successful company in the early 1970s called Snail’s Pace, which made dickies and spats-like boots that were sold in Gimbels and Bloomingdale’s.
After Mr. Degnan retired, the couple moved to Florida and made it their primary residence, continuing to summer in Westhampton Beach. They both became avid croquet players, with Mr. Degnan becoming president of the Unites States Croquet Association and Mrs. Degnan following suit as co-chair of the 1992 Southampton Hall of Fame Ball, co-chair for the “Best of Everything” Croquet Ball in 1993 and co-chair of the 1996 “Croquet Appreciation Ball.” Until recently, Mrs. Degnan was active in the Palm Beach Croquet Association.
She is survived by two daughters, Lissa of New Jersey, and Diana Thorson and her husband Blake of Florida; a sister-in-law, Molly Merlino of New York; five nieces and nephews, Claire, Nell, Kate, Jim and Joe Merlino; and three grandnieces, Maggie, Allison and Helena.
She was predeceased by her husband, Donald.
Arrangements were under the direction of Edgley Cremation Services in West Palm Beach.
In lieu of flowers, donations to the Lourdes-Noreen McKeen Residence, 315 South Flagler Drive, West Palm Beach, FL 33401 would be appreciated by the family.
on Jun 17, 2009