Karen T. Hughes Of New York City And Southampton Dies September 16

Karen Toohey Hughes of New York City and Southampton died on September 16. She was 71.

Born in New Jersey on March 19, 1949, she was a graduate of Millburn High School and Wells College.

She met her husband of 48 years, Jeff, as a teenager on the beaches of Peconic Bay between North Sea Beach Colony and Cedar Crest.

Her long and distinguished career at Ruder Finn and Polskin Arts & Communications Counselors spanned 46 years and mirrored her passion for the arts, her family said. She was an ardent supporter of cultural institutions in New York City and Eastern Long Island, a lover of animals, and an expert skier (snow and water) and sailor.

Ms. Hughes served on the boards of many organizations, including the School of American Ballet, Episcopal Charities, Allen Stevenson School, Hotchkiss School, Bowdoin College and New York City Ballet, among other institutions.

She was a brave and graceful fighter, her family said, overcoming battles with Hodgkin’s disease in the late 1970s and breast cancer in 2012.

She was predeceased by her father Edward J. Toohey. She is survived by her husband Jeff; mother Phyllis; daughter Alexandra; son and daughter-in-law Andrew and Eliza; grandchildren Will and Maddie; extended family, and countless friends.

Her life will be celebrated once large gatherings are once again possible. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her memory to the School of American Ballet, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023, and the Evelyn Alexander Wildlife Rescue Center, 228 West Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays, NY 11946.