Blanche B. Whisnant, a resident of Sag Harbor for 60 years, died on Aug. 10 in Rome, Ga., after a stroke. She was 96.
Ms. Whisnant, who served with the United Service Organizations during World War II, first came to Sag Harbor to visit her sister, who was staying there. "She fell in love with it and stayed," her daughter Daria Whisnant of Sag Harbor said. "We were one of the first families to stay in Sag Harbor Hills year round."
Ms. Whisnant worked at the Tuller School on North Haven and served as a den mother for Boy Scouts. She also volunteered at the food pantry at Living Water Full Gospel Church in Wainscott, where she was a member.
She enjoyed attending church services and visiting the senior citizens center in East Hampton. "She was very active in the senior center until she couldn't go any longer," her daughter said.
She also enjoyed poetry, art, cooking, and crafts including knitting and crochet. She knit hats and booties for premature infants, her daughter said. "Everybody loved my mother," she said. "I know people say that, but she was universally loved. She was a hugger -- she would go up to someone and say, 'I give hugs.' "
Ms. Whisnant was born in the Bronx on Sept. 20, 1923, to George Clayton and the former Blanche Ruthella Dodge. She grew up there, attending Christopher Columbus High School.
She and Gilbert Whisnant, a veteran, were married for 55 years. "They went to a dance on Valentine's Day," their daughter said of their meeting, "and were married on May 2, 1948." Mr. Whisnant died in 2003.
In addition to her daughter, Ms. Whisnant is survived by her three other children: Gilbert Whisnant of Jamestown, N.C., Lorrin Whisnant of Puyallup, Wash., and Mary Whisnant of Cartersville, Ga. Six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren also survive, as do several nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.
A service was held at the Brockett Funeral Home in Southampton on Aug. 18, Pastor Joe Kelly of Living Water Church officiating. Burial, at Calverton National Cemetery, was private.
