Shelter Island Reporter obituaries

Muriel Esther Corwin

Muriel Esther Corwin of Flanders passed away at the age of 92 at the Westhampton Care Center on Feb. 27, 2020, after a brief illness.

Muriel was born March 26, 1927, as the youngest of four children of Thomas and Margaret (Case) Stein of Shelter Island Heights, N.Y. During World War II Muriel graduated from Shelter Island High School in a class of just 14 students.

After graduating, she moved to Riverhead to work in the Office of the County Clerk, where she became an exceptionally fast typist, a skill she maintained for years to come. She was married to the late Frank M. Corwin, Jr. for 64 years and she died on the 71st anniversary of their 1949 wedding.

Muriel was a passionately opinionated person and was blessed with an agile mind right up to her passing. She loved nurturing young children and animals. She and Frank shared a lifelong interest in nature and animals.

They rescued and raised wild birds, rabbits, geese, goats, a pig and dogs. For 35 years, Muriel devoted considerable effort to raising and breeding lovebirds. She enjoyed creating birds that developed novel feather coloration, which were sought after by others.

She was a devoted mother to Beverly S. Corwin Reeves (Craig) of Golden, Colo.; Jeffrey T. Corwin (Linda) of Afton, Va.; and Todd M. Corwin (Mimi) of Flanders, N.Y. She loved and enjoyed being with her grandchildren, Gregory C. Askin of D’Arcy, British Columbia, Canada, Elisabeth “Betsy” Askin Sharp of Golden, Colo., Brianne G. Corwin Angelopolis (Nicholas) and Kiersten M. Corwin of Flanders and Patrick B. Corwin (Diana) of Houston, Texas; and her great-grandchildren, Kye Boux-Askin of D’Arcy, B. C., Canada, and Olive Sharp of Golden, Colo. Muriel was a strong proponent of higher education, encouraging and taking pride in having her three children and her grandchildren win scholarships and attend college.

In keeping with her wishes, there will be a simple family graveside service to celebrate and honor Muriel’s life sometime in 2021 when is it safe to do so, given the current COVID-19 pandemic situation. 

Frederic Laurence Gannon, M.D.

Frederic “Ted” Laurence Gannon, M.D., 86, of New York City and Shelter Island, died at his home in New York City on Jan. 5, 2021.  

A proud, lifelong New Yorker, he was a graduate of Bishop Laughlin Memorial High School, Boston College, and Georgetown University School of Medicine. After medical school, Ted served as a captain in the United States Army and was stationed in Fort Bliss, Tex.

He practiced psychiatry in New York for over 40 years, and was associated with several institutions throughout his career, including Long Island College Hospital, SUNY Downstate Medical Center and University Hospital, St. Vincent’s Hospital, and St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital. While at LICH, Ted served as the medical director of the Alcoholism Treatment Program. 

In addition to his commitment to New York City, Ted left an indelible mark on the community of Shelter Island. He and his wife, Anna, put down roots on the Island in the late 1960s, and he had been a man about town there ever since. His lifelong support of the arts found a home at his beloved Perlman Music Program, and his appreciation of the natural world led him to the Mashomack Preserve.

Ted was also a remarkable conversationalist, but a better listener. All who spoke with him — from his children’s high school friends to his own friends in retirement — felt he was genuinely interested in their lives and what they said. He displayed a constant thirst for knowledge and education, which he passed down to and encouraged in his children and grandchildren.

A lover of literature and poetry, he shared his passion with everyone he met, but particularly with his many friends from the Institute for Retired Professionals. He was a student of the Institute for over 10 years and took great pride in his studies. 

Patriarch of a sprawling family, he is survived by his four children, Anna Gannon, Lisa Gannon, Andrea Gannon Brereton and Ted Gannon; their spouses; nine grandchildren; two sisters, Margaret Lee and Priscilla; and 14 nieces and nephews.

He is also survived by countless friends from all different parts of his life, including medical school, the Institute for Retired Professionals, and friends of his children who became his friends, too. He is preceded in death by his wife, Dr. Anna Mascolo, M.D., son, Jude Gannon, and brother, David Gannon. 

His presence in the lives of those who knew him will be impossible to fill. He will be greatly missed by all.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Friday, January 8, 2021, at 10 a.m. at St. Ignatius Loyola R.C. Church in New York City. Interment will be at a later date at Our Lady of the Isle Cemetery, Shelter Island.

Charitable donations may be made to Doctors Without Borders, contact Donor Services at (888) 392-0392, and CurePSP, 1216 Broadway FL 2, New York, NY 10001, a foundation dedicated to curing degenerative brain diseases, one of which took Ted’s beloved wife. 

Marillyn Buelow Wilson

Marillyn Buelow Wilson, a resident of Peconic Landing in Greenport, died Jan. 1, 2021 at her home. She was 96.

Ms. Wilson was born Feb. 25, 1924, in Detroit, Mich., to Raymond and Eida (Heidt) Buelow. She grew up in Grosse Pointe, Mich., where she attended high school.

She started her working life as a food and society writer for The Greater Detroit News. After her marriage to Robert Wilson, she lived in Brooklyn from the late 1950s to 2002. During that time, she was a volunteer and donor for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. From 1971 to 2008 she also had a home in East Hampton, where she helped establish the South Fork-Shelter Island chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

In 1980, Ms. Wilson was instrumental in the acquisition of The Nature Conservancy’s Mashomack Preserve on Shelter Island and continued to support it. She was involved in land preservation projects in East Hampton Town and many other areas, including Pipes Cove on the North Fork. She was an early supporter of Peconic Land Trust.

She was predeceased by her former husband, Robert Wilson, and her life partner, Norman Alstedter.

Memorial donations may be made in support of conservation and stewardship of natural places.