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Averill Dayton Geus, Preservationist and Historian

Averill Dayton Geus, who died at home on Old Orchard Lane in East Hampton on Aug. 1, was one of the last of what East Hampton used to call its “great ladies.” In a life distinguished by personal courage and indomitable energy, she wielded considerable political and social influence through the channels of soft power available to women of her generation — as the town’s official historian; as a president of the Ladies Village Improvement Society and of the Suffolk County Historical Society; as curator at Home, Sweet Home Museum; as a teacher, and as an outspoken champion of the preservation of our built heritage.

Sheila Crasky Ray

Sheila Crasky Ray, whose yard in Montauk was a sanctuary for deer, squirrels, and a variety of birds, died of heart failure on Aug. 16 at Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson. She was 79 and had been ill for eight months.

Richard Ellis Lynn

Richard Ellis Lynn had already retired from a career as a successful insurance executive when he was accepted at Harris Manchester College at the University of Oxford in England to study Renaissance literature. When he returned to East Hampton after his studies, he published a book of his poetry, “Bottom’s Dream," and “for the rest of his life, he would find great satisfaction in his poetry practice,” his family said.

Elisabeth Brugnoni

Elisabeth Brugnoni, a painter, talented seamstress, and gifted cook, moved to Amagansett in 1972 with her husband, Marc Brugnoni, and three daughters, and “immediately fell in love with her new home and the surroundings,” her family wrote. Mrs. Brugnoni, described as “a loving mother, a cherished wife, and a much-beloved friend,” died in her sleep on July 3 in Northampton, Mass. She was 83.