Ruth H. Guyer, Schoolteacher

    Ruth Hedges Guyer, an early education teacher who, her family said, felt blessed to work with children, died at home in Bridgehampton of cancer on Feb. 26. She was 71.

    Ms. Guyer, who was often called Grandma Buzzy, began her teaching career at the Southampton Elementary School after graduating from the State University at New Paltz in 1963. She took time off to raise her children, but when the youngest reached nursery school age, she became the teacher and director of the Bridgehampton Cooperative Nursery School. She then joined the faculty of the Bridgehampton School, where over some 17 years she taught kindergarten and, later, pre-kindergarten.

    She was born at Southampton Hospital on Oct. 28, 1941, to the former Miriam Fickeissen and Allen Hedges, neither of whom survive. A lifelong Bridgehampton resident, she graduated from the Bridgehampton School herself and was a lifelong member of the Bridgehampton Methodist Church. She taught Sunday school there, sang in its choir, and held various church offices.

    She and Fred Guyer of Bridgehampton were married in 1964. He had suffered from ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease, and died in 2010.

    According to her family, Ms. Guyer was the Queen Mum of the Sag Harbor chapter of Red Hats, a nationwide women’s orgnization. Her daughter Catherine Hansen of Sag Harbor said the group has fun wearing red hats, purple clothing, and lots of “bling bling.”

    In addition to Ms. Hansen, Ms. Guyer is survived by her son, Michael Guyer of Sag Harbor, by another daughter, Debra Guyer of Bridgehampton, and by six grandchildren. Her brothers, Edwin Hedges and Albert Hedges, both of Bridgehampton, Eugene Hedges of Washington, D.C., David Hedges of Texas, and T. William Hedges and John Hedges of Arizona, also survive, as does a  sister, Margaret Makowski of Jamesport. Another sister, Florence Lanz, died before her.

    A service was held on Friday at the Bridgehampton Methodist Church with burial following at Edgewood Cemetery in Bridgehampton. Donations have been suggested to the ALS Association, 42 Broadway, Suite 1724, New York 10004, or the American Cancer Society at P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City 73123-1718.