May Kelman, 103

May Rodney Kelman, a noted quilter and resident of Sag Harbor for more than 70 years, died last Thursday at the age of 103.

Mrs. Kelman took up quilting when she was 75, becoming a member of the Eastern Long Island Quilters Guild. Her creations would win her several awards.

“Her most famous quilt was an ‘uneven log cabin quilt’ pattern in brilliant blues and golds,” her daughter, Edith Kelman, said. “That won best in show at the guild’s annual exhibition.” Last year, Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor showcased her quilts in a solo exhibition. 

Mrs. Kelman was an adept seamstress, knitter, and cook, with a fondness for preparing dishes featuring South Fork ingredients such as beach plum jelly, duck a l’orange, and clam chowder. She was also an enthusiastic reader, and, until her final days, she would daily conquer the New York Times crossword puzzle in pen. At the age of 99, she acquired an iPad and learned to use a Gmail account to communicate with her children and grandchildren who had moved away. 

She was born on March 20, 1914, in Brooklyn, a daughter of Samuel Rodney and the former Anna Edith Peskin. When she was nearly 4 years old, her mother died in the Spanish flu epidemic, leaving her and her sister, Dorothy, to be brought up by a series of relatives. She graduated from Girls’ High School in Brooklyn and landed a job as an executive assistant during the Depression. 

On March 31, 1936, she married Irving Kelman, a childhood friend. Mrs. Kelman continued to work as an executive assistant to help pay her husband’s way through dental school. They remained married for 58 years, until Mr. Kelman’s death in 1994. 

In 1946, the couple moved to Sag Harbor, where Mr. Kelman had acquired a dental practice. It was in a house on Main Street where they brought up their four children, each of whom graduated from Pierson High School. Mrs. Kelman was an active member of the Masonic Order of the Eastern Star, and she and her husband were longtime members of Temple Adas Israel. At the time of her death, she was the oldest member of the congregation. 

Mrs. Kelman’s oldest son, Michael Kelman, died before her. In addition to her daughter, who lives in Atlanta, she is survived by two other children, Robert Kelman of Chicago and Peter Kelman of Wayland, Mass., as well as five grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.

A funeral service officiated by Nancy Remkus, an interfaith minister, was held at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor on Sunday. Mrs. Kelman was buried at Chevra Kodetia Cemetery in Sag Harbor, alongside her husband and her son.