Ray D. Lingwood

    Ray D. Lingwood, a civic-minded member of the Bridgehampton-Water Mill community and founder of the Bridgehampton I.G.A., died on Thanksgiving Day at home in Water Mill. He was three days shy of his 91st birthday.

    Mr. Lingwood was a World War II veteran, a sergeant in the Army Air Corps in charge of a photographic unit in the Pacific theater. He served from August 1942 to the end of the war.

    He was born in New Rochelle, N.Y., on Nov. 25, 1921, the son of Ray Lingwood and the former Anna Hoyette. He graduated from Southampton High School with the class of 1939. While growing up he worked for Lillywhite’s toy store in Southampton and as a carpenter with his father. Upon returning from the war in early 1946, he married Anna Kuhlmann, who died before him.

    That same year, he began working at the Western Union research laboratory in Water Mill, a job he held until 1949 and from 1953 to 1964. In between he worked as a grocer. In 1964 he purchased a market, expanded it, and in 1971 founded the Bridgehampton I.G.A. He liked to call it “the unusual supermarket” because it specialized in out-of-the-ordinary items.

    Mr. Lingwood enjoyed traveling within the U.S. and abroad and keeping a garden. He was active in the community, a member of the Old Town Masonic Lodge, the Loyal Order of the Moose, the Bridgehampton Lions Club, and the Water Mill Community Club. He also served as a trustee and rental agent for the Bridgehampton Community House.

    He is survived by a daughter, Sharon Lingwood Dickinson, and a son, David Lingwood, both of Water Mill. He leaves four grandchildren. Another daughter, Karen, died in infancy.

    Friends and family gathered at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor on Monday. Mr. Lingwood was buried on Tuesday at Southampton Cemetery. Memorial contributions were suggested for East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.