Edna Yardley

Edna Yardley, a retired real estate broker and longtime East Hampton resident, died at home on Sunday. She was 76, and had had cancer for just under a year.

Mrs. Yardley enjoyed walking through the village and collecting beach glass along the ocean beach, said her daughter, Erica Yardley of Sag Harbor. She was an enthusiastic tennis fan and watched “Jeopardy” every day, answering most of the  questions correctly. She also loved watching Sunday football.

“She was adventurous, kind, generous, and one of the strongest people I know,” said another daughter, Lynne Brown of East Hampton.

She enjoyed traveling. Her latest trip to Italy with her sister, Marianne Lynne of England, was a favorite; she returned with stories of dancing in piazzas, describing the beautiful cities and countrysides she had seen.

A talented knitter, she made blankets for her children, grandchildren, and friends. She also enjoyed gardening, doing crosswords, and spending time with family, both in East Hampton and in Vermont, for summertime visits and holidays.

Mrs. Yardley was born on April 1, 1940, in Birmingham, England, to Leonard Lynne and the former Edith Myatt. She attended the Warren Farm Girls School, and then spent two years studying to become a primary school teacher. At 18, she accepted a job in the United States and traveled alone by ship across the Atlantic to New York City, where she worked in child care and later as a retail salesperson.

A child-care job for a family that summered in East Hampton led her to meet her future husband, Frederick Yardley, who survives. Mr. Yardley, who was a lifeguard, said he noticed the young woman “while she was reading a story to the children on her beach blanket at Main Beach,” the family said. “She had a big straw hat on with a long blue ribbon,” Mr. Yardley recalled, “and I noticed how loving she was with the children.” Nervous, he sent another lifeguard to find out her name so that he could ask her for a date. Several months later, at Christmastime, he proposed; the couple showed off the ring the next day while skating at Town Pond in East Hampton.

In addition to her husband and daughters, Mrs. Yardley is survived by a son, Matthew Yardley of East Hampton, as well as three grandchildren. She was predeceased by another son, Philip Frederick Yardley.

Her sisters, Kathryn Keeley of Coventry, England, and Ms. Lynne, of Sutton Coldfield, England, also survive.

Mrs. Yardley was cremated. Visiting hours were held yesterday at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. A funeral service will take place this morning at 11 at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton.

Memorial contributions have been suggested to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, 383 Main Avenue, Fifth Floor, Norwalk, Conn. 06851, or the Dominican Sisters Family Health Service, P. O. Box 1028, Hampton Bays 11946, or the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association, 1 Cedar Street, East Hampton 11937.