Carol Lynne Elms “found beauty in the unusual and unique,” her family wrote. She “was always doing something artistic,” whether that was “photography, gardening, quilting, painting rocks, or making mosaics with beach glass with the thousands of pieces she had been collecting since she was little.”
Gardening was a passion, and she tapped it while working as a caretaker and gardener at large estates in East Hampton. “She was most proud of her time working on Gardiner’s Island in the 1980s,” her family said. “She would take the boat over daily, and help with landscaping and the upkeep of the estate. She considered it a privilege.”
Ms. Elms died of cardiac arrest on Dec. 10 in East Hampton. She was 73.
A year-round resident of McGuirk Street, she is survived by her partner of 20 years, Gene Simons, a daughter, Heather Elms Levine of Grosse Pointe Park, Mich., and a son, Brooks Elms of Canoga Park, Calif., as well as her grandsons, Hunter and Alex Levine and Leo and Jesse Elms, and her siblings, Sidney Field and Jack MacPherson of East Hampton and Barry MacPherson of Maryland.
Ms. Elms was born in Southampton on July 18, 1949, to Sidney Matthew Field and the former Alice King. She grew up and graduated from high school here, then moved away in 1973 to live for seven years in Akron, Ohio.
Her marriages to Terry Elms and Paul Honorowski ended in divorce.
She adored her son-in-law, Sam Levine, and daughter-in-law, Angela Elms, her family wrote. Her lifelong friends, cousins, niece, and nephews “brought her so much joy.”
“In addition to being the funniest person in the room, Carol was known as a great listener and for having the kindest, tender heart. If she loved you, you knew it,” her family said.
Ms. Elms enjoyed collaborating on quilts that were auctioned off for the East Hampton Presbyterian Church or charities like the Dory Rescue Squad.
She was cremated, with her ashes set to be buried at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in East Hampton. A memorial with friends and family was held on Dec. 18. A celebration of her life will take place in the spring, “when flowers are blooming and birds are chirping,” her children said.
They suggested memorial contributions to East Hampton Meals on Wheels, 33 Newtown Lane, Suite 205, East Hampton 11937, or online at ehmealsonwheels.org.