Virginia Kehoe, 91
Virginia Marie Kehoe, who moved to East Hampton with her husband in 1987 after her retirement from the Bryant Library in Roslyn, died on March 19 after an illness of three months. She was 91.
Known as Ginny, her family said she would be remembered for warmth, beauty, friendliness, humor, patience, and steadfastness.
Born Virginia Marie Smith on May 24, 1922, her parents were George Smith and the former Anna Irwin. The family, which included three sons, lived in Jamaica, Queens, where she attended Richmond High School, graduating in 1942.
“Always a woman who loved to work outside of the home, Virginia found great joy in her first job as a movie theater usher in the year of ‘Gone With the Wind’ and ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ ” her family wrote.
Mrs. Kehoe met the man who was to be her husband, John (Jack) Patrick Kehoe, during World War II. They were married on March 28, 1943, before Mr. Kehoe was deployed with the Air Force, which her family considered scandalous because it was the Lenten season. He died in 1987.
After the war, the couple lived and raised five children in Glen Cove. Mrs. Kehoe was active in St. Patrick’s Catholic Church there, the PTO, boys and girls scout troops, and she was even known on occasion to cover her son’s Newsday paper route. She eventually found what she said was her “dream job” at the Bryant Library. She worked there for 20 years.
Mrs. Kehoe’s lifelong interests included gardening, reading, traveling, and, her family said, mothering. She volunteered in East Hampton at the Ladies Village Improvement Society’s Bargain Books shop.
In 1992, Mrs. Kehoe married Robert Beyer of Sag Harbor. He died in 1994. A son, John Kehoe Jr. of East Hampton, and a daughter, Mary Ann D’Orso of East Moriches, also died before her. Mrs. Kehoe was very close to her son John’s wife, Desiree Albright-Kehoe, who also lives in East Hampton.
Mrs. Kehoe is survived by her son Francis Kehoe of Jeffersonville, Vt., and her daughters Elizabeth (Betty) Linder of Kings Park, and Terri Walker of Princeton, N.J. Ten grandchildren and five great-grandchildren also survive, as does a brother, William Smith of Hudson, Fla.
She was buried beside her first husband at Calverton National Cemetery.
Her family suggested donations to the Retreat, 13 Goodfriend Drive, East Hampton 11937, or the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, P.O. Box 901, Wainscott 11975.
Correction: An earlier version of this obituary misidentified Francis Kehoe as a daughter instead of a son of Mrs. Kehoe.