Longtime Sag Harbor resident Alice Bennett dies at 82

Longtime Sag Harbor resident Alice Bennett died on May 14 at her home. Described by survivors as a pillar of the Sag Harbor community for more than 63 years, she was 82.

Born September 16, 1927, in Far Rockaway, Queens, to Mary (née O’Malley) and Francis Lysaght, she made Sag Harbor her home after marrying Guy Dee Bennett in 1947. Mrs. Bennett became a homemaker after working for the New York Telephone Company for a number of years. She was an avid volunteer throughout the community. In addition, she also helped her husband and his business partner Al Labrozzi manage the crew at the Millstone Tavern, which they owned.

In addition to being active in both St. Andrew’s Church and St. Andrew’s School (before it became Stella Maris) where she was a member of the Parent Teacher Association, she volunteered with the American Cancer Society for 20 years, at the Sag Harbor Visitors Center and the Sag Harbor Community Food Pantry, and enjoyed spending summers at the windmill for the Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce. Most recently she was part of the informal Deli Girls Coffee Klatch, survivors said.

A giver by nature—always thinking of others before herself—Mrs. Bennett wished to die at home and so her son and daughter-in-law, Bruce and Vee Bennett, cared for her in her last months—with the assistance of East End Hospice and two aides.

In addition to her son, Bruce of Sag Harbor, she is survived by two daughters, Barbara Armstrong and Mary Beth Schoen, both of Colorado; a brother, James Lysaght of New York City; two sisters, Mary Stinson of Oswego and Frances Reisent of East Rockaway; and five grandchildren, Nick, Henry, Mallory, Mitchell and Madison. She was predeceased by her husband. Although she had been ill for most of her life, family recalled her as selfless, strong and stoic.

Visitation was on May 17 at Yardley & Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor. A funeral mass was held on May 18 at St. Andrew’s Church in Sag Harbor, followed by interment at Most Holy Trinity Cemetery in East Hampton.

In lieu of flowers, donations to St. Andrew’s R.C. Church, 122 Division Street, Sag Harbor, NY 11963; the Alzheimer’s Association Long Island Chapter, 3281 Veterans Memorial Highway, Suite E-13, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779-7675; or the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 102454, Atlanta, GA 30368-2454 would be appreciated by the family.