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Phyllis S. Toohey
Phyllis S. Toohey of New York City and Southampton died on September 6. She was 91.
She was born in Jersey City on August 6, 1931, to Ruth Selina Goldey and Charles Scheidecker. She was a member of the Barnard College Class of 1953, attended New York University’s School of Interior Design and successfully ran her eponymous interior design business for many years.
She met her husband of more than 60 years, Edward J. Toohey, at a high school graduation party in the late 1940s. They lived up and down the East Coast and built lifelong friendships from Camp Lejeune, Washington, D.C., and Palm Beach, to New Haven, New York City and Southampton.
Toohey was an ardent supporter of cultural and environmental institutions in New York City and eastern Long Island, her family said, loved to swim, cross country ski and dance, and was a fiercely loyal and supportive wife, mother, grandmother, great grandmother, cousin and friend.
She had impeccable style, her family said, and was amazingly gentle, kind and elegant — traits that belied an intense strength that helped her persevere and build a remarkable life characterized by bringing together those closest to her for a meal, a weekend and, in some cases, a lifetime.
Known as “Mime” to those closest to her, she was predeceased by her husband Ed and daughter Karen T. Hughes. She is survived by her grandchildren Alexandra and Andrew (Eliza); her three great-grandchildren; son-in-law Jeff; and extended family and friends.
A memorial service is planned for September 16 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Andrew’s Dune Church in Southampton.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in her memory to the Peconic Baykeeper, P.O. Box 939, Hampton Bays, NY 11946.
Staff Writer on Sep 12, 2022