Barbara Brown Albright died in Sagaponack on Sunday, in the house that had been in her late husband’s family since 1720. She was 95, and was in good shape for her age, said her daughter Penny Albright Bichsel. “I was with my Mom Sunday night, and I was so blessed and honored to be by her side holding her hand until she was called home to be with our Lord.”
Mrs. Albright, an active member of the Christian Women’s Club on the East End, enjoyed teaching Sunday school and leading the Pioneer Girls for many years. She also loved her roles as homemaker, wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, the family said.
She was a regular presence at the Sagaponack School, whose students would visit her on Flag Day at the old house, where she would regale them with tales of children’s lives there in the 18th and 19th centuries, said Jeanette Krempler, clerk of the Sagaponack School District, who knew her for almost 17 years.
“Any time we think of Flag Day, we’ll think of Mrs. Albright. She will always be a part of the Sagaponack School family, and we will do something in her honor. She was adored and cherished by the school. She will be sorely missed. She was an icon.”
Mrs. Albright was accomplished at crewel embroidery as well as knitting and crocheting. She made all the clothes for her six children, was a rock of support to their many friends, and cooked and baked from scratch. When she turned 70, she coauthored her first book, written with Carolyn Halsey: “Sagaponack: Then and Now,” a historical chronicle of the hamlet filled with photographs.
She was born on Oct. 2, 1927, in Flatlands, Brooklyn, to Alice and P. Allen Brown. After graduating from Midwood High School in 1945, she began training to be a nurse at Prospect Heights Hospital, working as a nurse’s assistant to Dr. Duncan MacPherson, which included assisting with in-office surgeries.
On July 19, 1952, she was married to Earl Wilson Albright. The couple retired in 1985 and moved to “the house by the side of the road” that year. Mr. Albright died on Sept. 12, 2005.
All their children survive. They are Cheryl Shapter of Derby, N.Y., Timothy Albright of Palm City, Fla., Desiree Albright Kehoe of East Hampton, Jamie Albright Hart of Valatie, N.Y., Ms. Albright Bichsel of Henderson, Nev., and Earl Wilson Albright Jr. of Kernersville, N.C. A brother, Robert Brown of Allendale, N.J., survives as well, as do six grandchildren: Rachael Duckett of Kennesaw, Ga., Jonathan Albright of Simpsonville, S.C., Jacqulene Albright-Kehoe of Nashville, Philip Albright of Palm City, and Heath Albright and Holly Albright of Kernersville. She leaves six great-grandchildren: Adeline, Grayson, and Easton Duckett, Wiley Bichsel, and James and Josiah Albright.
Funeral services will take place at Grace Presbyterian Church in Water Mill at 11 a.m. on Saturday, officiated by the Rev. David Johnson, formerly of Calvary Baptist Church in Riverhead and now of the Vernon (N.Y.) Baptist Church, with the Rev. Mark Middlekauff. Burial will be at Edgewood Cemetery in Bridgehampton, with an Albright family reception following at the house in Sagaponack.
The family has suggested memorial donations in Mrs. Albright’s name to Samaritan’s Purse, P.O. Box 3000, Boone, N.C. 28607. These donations can be posted to her memorial page.
Mrs. Albright’s family has extended their gratitude to the friends of their mother who have “so lovingly, faithfully, and caringly visited, cared for, and done so many tasks throughout all the years of her widowhood. They cannot begin to thank each and every one of them for their generous gifts of their time, love, and support.”
