Susan Ellen Akin

Susan Ellen Akin of Sleepy Hollow, N.Y., a part-time resident of Montauk until 2002, died of emphysema on Jan. 3 at Phelps Memorial Hospital in Sleepy Hollow. She was 78 and had been in declining health since 2007.

Known as Ellen, she was born on Dec. 9, 1936, in Charles Town, W.V., to Laurence W. Lloyd and Susan Ellen Jones Lloyd and grew up there, eventually attending Duke University in Durham, N.C. She married Robert M. Akin III on July 2, 1960, and they began coming to Montauk after their marriage. Mr. Akin died in 2002.

 The couple had three children, Susan E. Akin and Johanna Akin of Sleepy Hollow and Robert M. Akin IV of Manhattan Beach, Calif. In addition to her children, five grandchildren survive, as does a brother, Laurence W. Lloyd Jr. of Charles Town.

The family has suggested memorial contributions to Phelps Memorial Hospital, 701 North Broadway, Sleepy Hollow 10591. A small gathering of friends and family will take place on Saturday in Sleepy Hollow.