Emily van Heusen Halsey Of Southampton Dies June 10

Emily van Heusen Halsey, beloved mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, died at her home in Southampton Village on June 10. She was 98.

She was the wife of the late Dr. Hugh Halsey II, who predeceased her by 23 years. Born on February 27, 1923 in Taunton, Somerset, England to American parents, John Manning van Heusen and Emily Kent, “Emmy,” as she was affectionately known by family and friends, spent most of her first 14 years in England. Her father managed a van Heusen shirt factory in Taunton. Her grandfather, also John Manning van Heusen, invented the attached collar that revolutionized the shirt industry.

Upon returning from England at age 14, Ms. Halsey’s family resided in Florida, where she graduated from high school and attended several years of college at Stetson University.

With strong family ties in Montclair, New Jersey, Ms. Halsey’s family made frequent trips north to visit family and friends, including Donald and Patience Halsey. On one such trip, she and their son Hugh Halsey II fell in love and were later married on April 15, 1944.

At the conclusion of World War II, Ms. Halsey joined her husband, a captain in the Medical Corps, in Osaka, Japan for two years during its occupation. From 1948 through 1953, they lived in New York City, where Hugh completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at New York Lying-In Hospital.

By 1956, they established their home in Southampton with son John and their daughter Sarah. Soon to follow, were daughters Lyllis and Louise. Ms. Halsey raised her children with tremendous love, care, and inspiration, her family noted.

Just prior to his death in 1998, Dr. Halsey wrote to his wife, “The last few years I have realized that every day is truly a gift, each day better than the day before. Your love has been the center of all of this. Love is the center of life itself. You are love.”

Everyone who knew Ms. Halsey will attest to this fact given her generosity and a home that welcomed all, her family said. She volunteered at Southampton Hospital for many years. An avid gardener, Ms. Halsey added color to her home and the neighborhood on Wickapogue Road in Southampton Village, once surrounded by potatoes and fields of rye.

She also enjoyed painting and playing bridge through the end of her life with dear friends including her brother-in-law, James Mitchell Halsey. She will be missed by all who knew her, her family said.

Ms. Halsey is survived by her children John, Sarah, Lyllis, and Louise; daughter-in-law Janis Ebli-Halsey; sons-in-law Bob Wickersham, Nam Nguyen, and Jim Coates; grandchildren Josh, Bobby, Lily, Jenna, Emily, and Lindsay; and great-grandchild Louisa Huê Sachs, aka “Poppy”; her step-mother Sally Marie van Heusen; brother-in-law James Mitchell Halsey; and many friends and extended family.

Ms. Halsey’s wish is that people gather in joy rather than in sadness, her family said. As per her wish, a celebration of life will be held at some time in the future when it is safe for all to gather.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations in her memory to the Peconic Land Trust, 296 Hampton Road, Southampton, NY 11968. The family also encourages the support of East End Hospice and the First Presbyterian Church of Southampton, which served Ms. Halsey and her family with love, care, and support throughout her illness, her family said.