Helen Anne Spanierman “had a deep love of fine food, a quick wit, and a sharp tongue,” her family wrote. She also possessed “an incredible sense of style.” She enjoyed traveling and reading, and had an ability to learn many different languages.
She had a keen eye for fine art and helped run the Spanierman Gallery on Newtown Lane in East Hampton in the 2000s.
“To know Helen was to love her, to laugh often, and to learn to appreciate all the finer things life had to offer,” her family wrote.
Mrs. Spanierman, who lived in Chatham, N.J., died of respiratory distress on Saturday in Morristown, N.J. She was 89.
She spent much of her life “ensconced in the life and culture” of New York City, her family said. In 1958, she married Ira Spanierman, an American art expert, and was instrumental in the launching of Manhattan’s Spanierman Gallery.
The couple had three sons, and in 1976 moved to East Hampton full time.
Born on Nov. 2, 1932, in Sharon, Conn., the eldest of two children of Martin Lynch and the former Margaret White, she grew up in Sharon and New York City.
“She was a dedicated wife, mother, grandmother, and friend,” her family said.
She is survived by two sons, David Spanierman of Putney, Vt., and Gavin Spanierman of New York City, and by six grandchildren, Sam, Jon, Sarah, Ethan, Liev, and Abel Spanierman. She also leaves a brother, James Fraser of Califon, N.J., and his daughter.
Her husband died in 2019, and her son Jonathan died in 1997. A service was to be held today.
