Eunice A. Waithe Dies At 88 - 27 East
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News / Obituaries / Southampton Press / 1467695

Eunice A. Waithe Dies At 88

author on Nov 15, 2011

Eunice Araminta Waithe

Eunice Araminta Waithe of the Shinnecock Indian Nation died on Thursday, November 10. She was 88.

Born September 15, 1923, on the Shinnecock Indian Reservation, the youngest of six daughters of Frederick Cuffee and Elizabeth Duryea Cuffee, Ms. Waithe attended the one-room school house on Shinnecock until moving to Bellport in 1938. The family then moved to Brooklyn where she graduated from the prestigious Girls’ High School.

On February 16, 1946, she married Herbert Waithe Sr. of Brooklyn. Ten years later after having four children, they moved their family to Methuen, Massachusetts, where she lived for the next 40 years. Ms. Waithe retired from the Internal Revenue Service in Andover, Massachusetts, where she was employed as a tax examiner during the tax season.

A few years after being widowed in 1989, she moved back home to Shinnecock where she became active in the Senior Citizens’ Club. She often spent time at Cuffee’s Beach reminiscing about her escapades on the Reservation in her youth. She also loved trips to casinos, playing cards, Po-ke-no and bingo with family and friends.

One of 13 children, Ms. Waithe is survived by two sisters, Constance Dunham of Shinnecock and Brooklyn, and Geneva Trotman of Shinnecock; children, Herbert Waithe Jr. and his wife Laurine Berger-Waithe of Massachussets, Richard Waithe of Shinnecock, Saundra and Andre Dennis of Shinnecock, Kevin and his wife Brenda Waithe of Massachusetts; grandchildren, Thomas Douglas Jr. of New Hampshire and Shawn Douglas of Shinnecock, and Getra Waithe of Hawaii, Dionne Waithe-DeJesus and her husband Charles DeJesus, and Tanya Waithe all of Massachusetts; eight great-grandchildren, and a host of nieces, nephews, relatives and friends.

The family received friends on Monday, November 14, at the Brockett Funeral Home in Southampton. A funeral service took place Tuesday, November 15, at the Shinnecock Presbyterian Church, the Reverend Michael Smith officiating. Interment followed at Shinnecock Cemetery. Pallbearers were Herbert Waithe Jr., Thomas Douglas Jr., Shawn Douglas, Emanuel Alexander, Gerald Dunham, and Jamile Trotman.

Memorial donations to the Southampton Hospital Regional Dialysis Center at the Hampton Bays Atrium, 184 West Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays, NY 11946, attention Fran, would be appreciated by the family.

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