Lucy A. Conley

CHAPEL Hill, N.C. — Lucy Ann Conley, a well-known North Shore gardener and long-time resident of Manchester-by-the-Sea, died peacefully at her home in Chapel Hill, N.C., on Saturday, Aug. 15, 2009 at the age of 88.

The daughter of Fred Oscar Webster and Irene Bechenbach Webster, she was born in Dallas on Jan. 27, 1921 and graduated in 1938 from Sunset High School, where she was yearbook editor-in-chief and a member of the National Honor Society. She proceeded to study Biology and graduate with honors in 1942 from Rice Institute (now Rice University) in Houston, before marrying her Rice classmate, Patrick Conley, who was an ensign in the United States Navy at the time.

While her husband served as an instructor at the Harvard Pre-Radar School in Cambridge, Mrs. Conley volunteered with the Red Cross and as chair of Mrs. Conant's Newcomers Bridge club at Harvard in 1942-1943. Following the war, she and her husband lived in Cambridge and in Boston, during which time she worked as a laboratory technologist in the Medical-Legal department at Harvard Medical School.

Mrs. Conley resided for several years near Pittsburgh, beginning in 1948 upon completion of her husband's graduate work at Harvard and his subsequent employment at the Westinghouse Research Laboratories. During this time, she and her husband made several extended visits to Key West, Fla., where she performed in community theater with the "Key West Players" and began a life-long interest in collecting and growing orchids.

In 1956, she and her husband moved to Baltimore, where they undertook the renovation of a house on Gibson Island. While residing there, Mrs. Conley was active with local organizations including the Gibson Island Yacht Club, the Episcopal Church, and the Gibson Island Garden Club, of which she became president. She returned to Pittsburgh with her family in 1961 and bought a house on North Drive, in Fox Chapel. She and her husband were active in the Pittsburgh Field Club, the Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church, and the Mentor Harbor Yacht Club on Lake Erie, where they sailed regularly, winning their class in the Trans-Erie Race (with their three small children) in 1966. During these years, she also served as membership chair for the Orchid Society of Western Pennsylvania.

She returned to the Boston area in 1967, settling on Cape Ann, where she and her husband acquired an ocean-side property in Manchester, near White Beach. Over the next three decades, she worked to create a widely-acclaimed seaside garden at her home, Crowhurst. She and her husband also raced sailboats together for many years, including their Swan 37, Skibo, in addition to enjoying extensive sailing with friends and family in the Virgin and Grenadine Islands, the Bahamas, the Chesapeake Bay, the Great Lakes, northern and southern New England, and Nova Scotia, including the Bras d'Or Lake. Among her many social and civic roles during these years, she served as horticultural chair for the North Shore Garden Club, as president of the Manchester Historical Society, and as entertainment chair for the Manchester Yacht Club, in addition to her activities with the Essex Institute, Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, American Orchid Society, Manchester Trees, Essex County Club, Singing Beach Club, Boston Symphony, and St. John's Episcopal Church in Beverly Farms.

She was preceded in death by her parents, and by her son, Peter Conley. She is survived by her husband of 67 years, Dr. Patrick Conley of Chapel Hill; her son, Dr. Christopher Conley and his wife Katharine Ireland Conley of Paradise Valley, Ariz.; and her daughter, Molly Dempsey and her husband Dr. Bert Dempsey of Chapel Hill; nine grandchildren, Lucas Conley and his wife Dr. Laura Comeau of Santa Fe, N.M., Sgt. Charles Conley, currently serving with the 509th Airborne Infantry Battalion, United States Army, in Paktika, Afghanistan, Olivia Conley of Tempe, Ariz., Nicholas Conley, Alexander Conley, Maximilian Conley, and Zachary Conley of Morganton, N.C. and Lucy Dempsey and Alice Dempsey of Chapel Hill.

ARRANGEMENTS: The family invites friends to share memories of Lucy on Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Essex County Club, 1 to 3 p.m. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to the Mayo Clinic Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, Department of Development, 200 First St. SW, Rochester, MN 55905. Condolences may be sent to conleycondolences@att.net.