Rosemary E. Shilson

Rosemary E. Shilson, a jewelry designer and interior decorator who was an active member of the East Hampton Ladies Village Improvement Society, died on Sept. 19 at Stony Brook University Hospital, following a stroke. She was 84 years old.

Her family, who called her Rosie, said she was known to have a classic, charming, and warm decorating style. In her jewelry business, which was called Stone Flower, she used gems from around the world. In the 1950s, before going into design, Mrs. Shilson worked as a marketing and advertising assistant at a publishing company in New York City.

She and Thomas H. Shilson were married in July of 1962, and came to live in East Hampton. They also lived for about 20 years in Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., and had homes in Jupiter, Fla., Santa Fe, N.M., and Beaufort, S.C., before returning to East Hampton in 1988 in their retirement, where they had a house on Sandra Road in Springs for 30 years.

Mrs. Shilson, a longtime member of the L.V.I.S., was said to have been integral to the success of the silent auctions at its annual fairs. The couple loved to sail and were members of the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett for many years.

Mrs. Shilson’s daughter-in-law, Carol McCarthy  Shilson of Chicago, said she had “an understated elegance” and a giving nature with much inner strength. The family also noted that she enjoyed gardening, painting, playing hostess for her family and friends, and dogs. She would be remembered, they wrote, for her graciousness, hospitality, sense of adventure, and great sense of humor.

She was born on March 23, 1931, the youngest of five children of Bernard Frances Golden and the former Rose Murphy. She was raised in Brooklyn, where she attended Visitation Academy and later Fontbonne Hall Academy. The family owned a house in Westhampton where they spent summers.

All of Mrs. Shilson’s siblings died before her and Mr. Shilson died in March of 2012. She is survived by her son, Jason Thomas Shilson of Chicago, and one grandson.

A funeral service was held on Sept. 23 at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. Memorial donations have been suggested to the Ladies Village Improvement Society, 95 Main Street, East Hampton 11937, or the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, P.O. Box 901, Wainscott 11975.