Dorothy Fleet Malin

Former Southold Town resident Dorothy (Ann) Fleet Malin passed away peacefully Dec. 14, 2013, at her home in Redding, Conn., after a courageous battle with lung cancer. A devoted wife, mother and grandmother, she had enormous love for her husband of 56 years, her two sons, their wives and her four grandchildren.

Ann was born Dec. 6, 1935, in Greenport, the older daughter of Dorothy (Cantrell) and Henry Landon Fleet. She inherited her father’s financial prowess and her mother’s musical and hospitality gifts. A proud graduate of Mattituck High School, and salutatorian among her 32 classmates, she enrolled at Mount Holyoke College, the first from her high school to attend that institution in 99 years. She graduated cum laude from Mount Holyoke in 1957 with a degree in economics.

She married the love of her life, Clement (Clem) Biddle Malin, in Cutchogue and moved to San Antonio, where he was serving in the U.S. Army. Over the next 21 years, she moved an additional eight times in support of her husband’s career — to Princeton, N.J.; New Rochelle, N.Y.; Paris; The Hague; London; Pelham, N.Y.; Falls Church, Va.; and, finally, Weston, Conn., where she and Clem lived for 32 years until their recent move to Redding. She moved willingly and enthusiastically each time, taking houses and turning them into homes. She was a wonderful cook and an avid reader and conversationalist who always made people feel welcome in her home. She was also a skilled pianist, an avid gardener and a diehard University of Connecticut women’s basketball fan.

Ann worked as a bank officer before she became a full-time mother in 1960. She returned to the working world in 1975 when she rediscovered her childhood hobby of philately. She spent the next 19 years working as a stamp describer for several auction houses and founded a company to bring stamps into elementary and secondary schools, combining her love of stamps and of children.

In addition to her work, Ann served in various volunteer roles for her college, in leadership roles for the Weston League of Women Voters and on the boards of the Weston High School scholarship committee and the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company. She was a firm believer in women’s education and worked hard to see that talented young people would have the funds needed to attend college.

Survivors include her husband, Clement Malin of Redding; her sons, Henry (Susan), of Plymouth, Minn., and Thomas (Valerie), of Westport, Conn.; her beloved grandchildren, Andrew, Patrick, Madison and Brandon; her sister, Sally Boenau (Doug) of Hendersonville, N.C.; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Private burial was held in Cutchogue and a celebration of her life will be held in the spring.

Donations in her memory can be made to Mount Holyoke College, 50 College Street, South Hadley, MA 01075 or to a charity of your choosing.

This is a paid notice.