Paulette McLeod Burnett Formerly Of Sag Harbor Dies November 22

Paulette McLeod Burnett, formerly of Sag Harbor and the widow of George Burnett, died on November 22 at home in Cary, North Carolina. She was 79.

Ms. Burnett came to the United States from Jamaica as a teenager in the 1950s with her brother and her mother, who worked as a seamstress for such fashion designers as Diane von Furstenburg.

As an adult, Ms. Burnett moved to Manhattan where she enjoyed an active social life, dancing at Studio 54. She worked in administrative positions in the garment industry, including for John Roberts, for roughly 30 years.

On July 17, 1998, she married Sag Harborite George Burnett in a garden wedding at his home on Chatsfield’s Hill. Mr. Burnett had been a major figure in Sag Harbor for many years, serving as the chair of the Chatsfield’s Hill Property Owners Association for 20 years; as a 25-year member of the local chapter of the American Legion; as a member of the Senior Citizens Council of Suffolk County, as a member of the Sag Harbor Planning Board and as president of the local chapter of the AARP.

Ms. Burnett took up gardening and joined the gym. Because her husband was blind, she learned to drive and eventually bought her cherished sports car.

She went to work as a sales associate at Saks Fifth Avenue in Southampton, in the better women’s clothes department. Always trim and stylish herself, survivors said, she acted as a personal shopper, advising many grateful women in the Hamptons until the store closed in October 2010.

During their later years together, Ms. Burnett devotedly cared for her husband through his long battle with cancer, until his death in 2010, survivors said.

After Mr. Burnett’s death and her retirement, she moved to Cary, North Carolina.

Ms. Burnett is survived by her brother Volney McLeod and his wife Jean of Virginia Beach; several nieces and nephews; life-long friends; and neighbors.