Jean H. Hope of Westhampton dies November 22

Jean H. Hope of Westhampton, formerly of Sag Harbor, died on November 22, with her family at her side, at the Westhampton Care Center. She was 94.

Born on June 21, 1931, to Kathryn and John McGann of the Bronx, she was the oldest of two children. Her younger sister, Patricia, was born 10 years later.

She was born during the depression. Her father worked in construction and her mother worked at Cornell’s as a salesperson. Her father later joined the U.S. Navy and served in the Pacific during World War II.

She graduated from Sacred Heart Catholic school, earned a high school diploma, and went on to work in New York City with the New York Curb Exchange as a quotations operator. She later worked with the New York Telephone Company, eventually becoming a business representative for Verizon at the time of her retirement in Riverhead.

She married her childhood sweetheart, Thomas Patrick Hope, in 1951, and they enjoyed raising a family of three children in Farmingdale, and later, during their retirement years, in Sag Harbor with their adored schnauzer, Missey.

She enjoyed the proximity to her two daughters and grandchildren and attended many local school events. She especially welcomed traveling with her daughter Irene’s family on family trips and later, daily participation at the Southampton Town Senior Center in Bridgehampton.

Sadly, she and her husband mourned the loss of their middle child, Loretta Hope, and soon after moved to The Villa at Westhampton in 2017. They had a full and pleasant social life at The Villa. Her husband died in 2020 of COVID.

She is survived by her daughter, Irene Hope Gazza and son-in-law, Joseph Gazza; her son, Thomas Joseph Hope; her grandchildren, Joseph Zachary Gazza, Blair Kathrine Gazza Grau and Molly Ann Gazza; and her great-grandchildren, Waverly and Georgiana Grau and Mason, James and Cole Doyle.

A private Catholic mass was held at the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Westhampton on November 24. Interment will follow at St. Charles Catholic Cemetery at a later date under the direction of the Werner-Rothwell Funeral Home in Westhampton Beach.

Donations may be arranged in her name at the Southampton Town Senior Services Bbridgehampton location by calling (631) 537-3027.