Mary Elizabeth Van Nostrand
Mary Elizabeth Van Nostrand, a longtime resident of Orient, passed away Sept. 13 at San Simeon by the Sound in Greenport.
Mary was born Oct. 29, 1926, in Flushing and was the daughter of Leslie and Elizabeth Van Nostrand and the sister of William Van Nostrand of Venice Center, N.Y. and Leslie Shaffer of Old Lyme, Conn.
Mary graduated from Great Neck High School, Endicott College and Hofstra University.
In 1947, she married Frederick M. Peyser Jr. and became mother to Frederick M. Peyser III and Leslie Peyser Black. After this marriage ended in divorce, Mary married Joseph Bambach. The couple later moved from Port Washington to her family’s summer home in Orient, which became their permanent residence in 1968. Following Joe’s death, Mary married Robert Van Nostrand and with him, operated Old Orchard Farm and Old Orchard Farm Store on Village Lane in Orient.
After Bob’s death in 2007 and Mary’s diagnosis with Alzheimer’s disease, Mary moved to Phoenixville, Pa., to live near her daughter, returning to Long Island when Leslie and her husband moved to Orient permanently in August 2017.
In addition to the Old Orchard Farm and Farm Store, Mary worked for B. Altman & Co. in Manhasset, Preston’s Gallery in Greenport, Long Island Oyster Farms in East Marion and Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport. She was active in Orient Congregational Church, was a member of Oysterponds Historical Society, the National Herb Society, the DAR, a board member of Poquatuck Hall in Orient and held a number of volunteer positions with other organizations.
Mary loved being on the water and was a longtime member of the Orient Yacht Club. As a girl she loved summer sailing on her Comet, “The Wanderer,” and frostbiting and continued to be an active boater throughout her life in Orient. Most of all, Mary loved people and never met someone she couldn’t engage in conversation. She enjoyed keeping up with friends and family, chatting with neighbors, entertaining in her home and planning for parties both small and large. She had a wonderful, dry sense of humor that her family and friends will miss.
Mary is survived by her son, Rick Peyser, his wife, Jan, of Underhill, Vt., their children Daniel and his wife, Sara White, of Burlington, Vt. and Suzanne and her husband, Adam Wilbur and Mary’s great-grandson, Henry Wilbur, all of Holland, Mass. She is also survived by her daughter, Leslie Peyser Black and her husband, Robert Black of Orient and their daughter, Catherine Black of Philadelphia. In addition, she is survived by her stepsons, Mark and John Bambach and John’s wife, Lisa, of Charlotte, N.C.; by her sister and brother-in-law, Leslie and Russell Shaffer of Old Lyme, Conn. and by several nieces and nephews.
The family is planning a celebration of Mary’s life to be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at Orient Congregational Church.
Memorial donations may be made in Mary’s name to San Simeon by the Sound, 61700 County Road 48, Greenport, NY 11944.
Arrangements were entrusted to Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport.
This is a paid notice.
