Philip Henry Fitzhugh

Former Southold summer resident Philip Henry Fitzhugh died March 19 at his home in Naples, Fla. He was 94.

He was born Jan. 19, 1917, in Baltimore, Md., to William and Hilda Christian Fitzhugh. He graduated from West High School in Rochester, N.Y., and Cornell University School of Hotel Management in Ithaca in 1939. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army Air Force from 1942 to 1945 in England, France and Germany.

In 1948 in Canandaigua, N.Y., he established Fitzhugh Floor Covering Company, which expanded to include a Woodmode Kitchen design business. He retired in 1985.

He spent his later years in Naples, which he enjoyed, according to family members, but he returned to Southold and Canandaigua every summer until 2009. In Naples, he was a member of the Vineyards Country Club, the Imperial Golf Club and Vanderbilt Presbyterian Church and volunteered at North Collier Community Hospital.

He was an avid tennis player — in his own words “not great but OK for my age,” according to family. He also painted in oils for his own amusement, was a Buffalo Bills fan, and enjoyed reading, traveling and spending time with his family and friends. Family said he was “94 years young.”

He is survived by his wife, Linda Ward Fitzhugh; three daughters; and four grandchildren. He was predeceased by his first wife, Helen Smith Fitzhugh, in 1987; his second wife, Berneice Schneider Fitzhugh, in 2000; and his sister, Carol Lee Gentry, in 1974.

A memorial service and celebration of his life was held March 24 at Imperial Golf Club in Naples. A service will be held Friday, May 20, at 1 p.m. at First Congregational Church in Canandaigua.

Donations may be made to Avow Hospice, 1095 Whippoorwill Lane, Naples, FL 34105, or First Congregational Church, 58 N. Main St., Canandaigua, NY 14424.