Isabelle Ray Morgan

Isabelle Ray Morgan, a lifelong East Hampton resident who helped baymen by opening shellfish at her shucking shack in Springs, died of pneumonia on Christmas Day at Southampton Hospital. She was 86.

As a child, Ms. Morgan left grade school to stay at home and care for her younger siblings so that her mother could work for another East Hampton family. This prompted a nickname, Mama, which stayed with her and rang true all her life, said Theresa Cullum of San Tan Valley, Ariz., a granddaughter whom she had raised. Ms. Morgan took in anyone in need and “was everybody’s mother,” Ms. Cullum said.

Born in East Hampton on Jan. 23, 1928, to Mildred and Wilbur Grant Bennett, she was one of six children. Floyd Bennett, Oliver Bennett, Doris Slowey, and Jessie Histand died before their sister; Stanley Bennett of East Hampton survives.

Ms. Morgan’s husband, Charles Morgan, died in 1989. The couple had three children. Laura Morgan died before her mother; Anthony Bennett of Claremont, N.H., and Donna Dellapolla of East Hampton survive.

Ms. Morgan was one of the first residents at the Windmill II senior citizen housing complex in East Hampton and had lived there for the last 10 years.

She enjoyed doing puzzles, including jigsaw puzzles and word searches, and was a fan of Nascar racing. She also loved westerns, her granddaughter said, and had visited a classic Old West town during one of several trips to Arizona.

A graveside service was held on Sunday at Green River Cemetery in Springs, the Rev. Denis C. Brunelle of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton presiding. Memorial contributions have been suggested to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.