Obituaries

Mary Heckman Tuthill

Mary Heckman Tuthill of Cutchogue, a lifelong lover of gardening, baking and her family, died peacefully on Sunday, February 19, 2012, at Peconic Landing in Greenport. Mrs. Tuthill, 99, was the wife of the late William Preston Tuthill.

Born in Sewaren, N.J., in 1912 to Louis Lee Heckman and Elizabeth Huntley Heckman, Mary (also known as Nani) moved to Cutchogue in 1921. As a young girl, she attended the three-room school in East Cutchogue and graduated from Southold High School in 1928. In addition, she attended Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pa., before returning to her beloved Eastern Long Island and marrying William Preston Tuthill on June 14, 1934. Mary and her husband had two children, Jane Elizabeth Tuthill and William Lee Tuthill. She and her family resided at the lovely Windsong Farm in Cutchogue from 1943 to 2002, when she moved to Peconic Landing. A charter member of the Minnepaug Club and a member of the Seagyan Club, Mary was also a lifelong member of the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council and a member of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Mattituck.

She enjoyed homemaking, knitting, gardening and walking her beloved English setters on the local beaches. A favorite saying of hers was, “I’d like to live in a house by the side of the road and be a friend to every man.” Mrs. Tuthill certainly exemplified that during her lifetime. She was extremely devoted to her husband and active in the lives of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Mrs. Tuthill was predeceased by her sister, Jane Ralston Heckman, in 1932, and by her husband, “Pret,” in 1996. She is survived by her daughter, Jane Tuthill Chapman (Russell) of Rochester, N.Y., and son, William Lee Tuthill (Barbara) of Jamestown, R.I.; two granddaughters, Elizabeth Anne Gay and Elaine Huntley Pizzarelli (Joseph); and two great-grandchildren, Christian Tuthill Pizzarelli and Huntley Jane Pizzarelli.

A graveside service was held Wednesday, February 22, 2012. Memorial contributions may be made to the Cutchogue New Suffolk Free Library, the Cutchogue-New Suffolk Historical Council and the Peconic Land Trust.

A “Celebration of Life” service will be held in later spring.

Funeral arrangements were entrusted to DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Homes.

This is a paid notice.