Sanya Bezencenet Timmons
Sanya Bezencenet Timmons of Southampton died on July 18 at her home surrounded by her family. She was 102.
Born in London, she graduated from the London School of Economics, an unusual feat for a woman of her time. She and a friend, Patricia Nathan, reinvented themselves as a Hungarian film star “Sari Maritza” (Ms. Nathan) and her manager “Vivian Gaye” (Ms. Bezencenet). They traveled to Hollywood with lucrative contracts in hand, but Ms. Gaye (aka Ms. Bezencenet) went on to become a literary agent and sold a project to Ernst Lubitsch, whom she subsequently married.
She later married Lane Timmons in Haiti, where he served as an ambassador. The two became passionate supporters of Haitian art and formed a lifelong passion for all things Haitian. After a tour in Paris at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the couple retired to Southampton, where they became active in the local community.
Mrs. Timmons was an intrepid swimmer and longtime member of the Bathing Corporation of Southampton
She is survived by a daughter, Nicola Lubitsch of California; two stepsons, Nicholas Timmons and Peter Timmons and his wife Tracey; three granddaughters, Galen, Amanda and Natasha; and a grandson, Elan. She was predeceased by her husband, Ambassador B.E.L. Timmons III.
Cremation and dispersal of ashes were private.
on Aug 25, 2010