Phyllis Smith Dies at Age 77; Lifelong West Tisbury Resident

Phyllis Louise Smith of West Tisbury died on April 4 at the Windemere Nursing Home and Rehabilitation Center in Oak Bluffs where she had been a patient for several months. She was 77.

Phyllis was born at the old Martha's Vineyard Hospital in Oak Bluffs and was a graduate of Tisbury High School the class of 1945. She worked at the United States Naval Auxiliary Airfield as a switchboard operator while still in high school. She was a lifelong resident of West Tisbury. She married Harry Smith in 1948 and lived briefly in Harrison, N.Y., before moving back to West Tisbury. She worked at Albion Alley and Co. (later called Alley's Store) and eventually became a part owner of the business with two of her brothers when her father retired. After the business was sold she worked for the Martha's Vineyard Airport as a part time bookkeeper, Humphreys Bakery as the morning shift clerk, the Aquinnah Shop and the Wright Place in Aquinnah.

She is survived by her two children, Brenda Lee of Aquinnah and Edmund Stuart of Edgartown; three brothers, James and John of West Tisbury and Albion of Vineyard Haven; many grandchildren and several great-grandchildren.

Donations maybe made in her memory to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, 276 Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, Edgartown, Ma. 02539. A memorial service will be held at a date to be announced.