Averill Dayton Geus, who died at home on Old Orchard Lane in East Hampton on Aug. 1, was one of the last of what East Hampton used to call its “great ladies.” In a life distinguished by personal courage and indomitable energy, she wielded considerable political and social influence through the channels of soft power available to women of her generation — as the town’s official historian; as a president of the Ladies Village Improvement Society and of the Suffolk County Historical Society; as curator at Home, Sweet Home Museum; as a teacher, and as an outspoken champion of the preservation of our built heritage.

Thomas Kelsall, who was deputy principal investigator on the NASA team credited with developing technology that yielded proof that the Big Bang Theory was correct, died in hospice care in Mitchellville, Md., on Aug. 13. Formerly of East Hampton, he had experienced complications of dementia.

Sheila Crasky Ray, whose yard in Montauk was a sanctuary for deer, squirrels, and a variety of birds, died of heart failure on Aug. 16 at Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson. She was 79 and had been ill for eight months.

An English teacher and attorney in private practice, Robert T. Anker of East Hampton and Brooklyn Heights died at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital on Aug. 2.