Sidney Damrosch Howard Urquhart

1933 - 2021

Sidney Damrosch Howard Urquhart Dies at 87: A Sharp Wit and a Generous Heart

Sidney Damrosch Howard Urquhart died on January 4, 2021, in Tyringham, surrounded by family. The cause of death was Covid 19. Her husband of 57 years, Brian Urquhart, predeceased her by two days.

Sidney was born in New York City in 1933. She lived her entire life moving between Manhattan and a dairy farm in Tyringham that had been established by her father, the award-winning playwright and screenwriter Sidney Howard. She graduated from The Brearley School and attended Smith College, where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Modern European History. She spent her junior year abroad in Paris, a formative experience she fondly remembered for the rest of her life. In 1980, at the age of 47, she completed her Master's degree in Journalism at Columbia University.

After graduating from Smith, Sidney won a writing prize in Vogue magazine's "Prix de Paris" awards, which led to a year-long internship at the magazine. Decades later, Vogue published several of her essays. In the early 1960s, she worked at the children's book imprint, Looking Glass Library and, throughout the 1970s, she served as the feared and revered librarian at The St. Bernard's School in New York City. After receiving her journalism degree, she joined Time magazine where, as Senior Researcher in the Nation section and an Assistant Editor, she wrote "The Week" column. During her 20-plus-year career covering politics and national trends, she particularly loved reporting on political conventions and was a lifelong Democrat who passionately supported liberal causes. In a family of news junkies, she claimed the role of chief pundit during the cherished family news hour.

In 1954, she married Cass Canfield, Jr., a publishing executive at Harper & Row, and gave birth to their son, Thomas, in 1956. The marriage ended in divorce. In 1963, she married Brian Urquhart, the United Nations main representative in the Congo, and gave birth to their daughter, Rachel. Three years later, their son, Charlie, was born.

A tall, classic beauty who bore a striking resemblance to Grace Kelly and was photographed by Richard Avedon, Sidney was also an intimidating intellect, a voracious reader, a talented writer and editor, and a witty observer of culture and politics. She more than held her own in any verbal joust and was proud of her encyclopedic memory, which once won her a place on a televised quiz show. She was also an avid cook and loved bringing family and friends together over memorable meals both in New York and Tyringham.

Sidney and Brian shared a passion for art, music, theater, books, politics and travel. They also doted on their adored corgis, Archie and Buster. But their true love was Tyringham, where Sidney made their home a magnet for friends, children and grandchildren, the latter a group she delighted in teaching how to swear, belt out songs from her favorite musicals, cook, talk back and live as exuberantly as she had.

Besides her beloved husband Brian, she is predeceased by her brother Walter Howard and two sisters, Jennifer Coleman and Margaret Howard. She is lovingly remembered and will be greatly missed by her three children and their spouses, Thomas Canfield and Danielle Parris Canfield, Rachel Urquhart and John Herrera, and Charles Urquhart and Heather Caldwell Urquhart; her step-children, Thomas Urquhart and Amy MacDonald, Katharine Ohno, and Robert Urquhart; her 14 grandchildren (Juliana, Isa, Theo, Simon, Elias, Zeb, Emily, Alex, Jeremy, Akio, Kazuo, Chisato, Marina and Catriona); and her 10 great-grandchildren.