Dr. James McBrayer Garvey Jr., a cardiologist who lived full time in Cincinnati and was an almost lifelong summer visitor to Amagansett, died there on Sept. 8, with his second wife, Janie P. Williams, and his dog, Shadow, by his side. He was 95.
Dr. Garvey, who, said his family, “reluctantly” retired at the age of 70, “was loved and admired by his many patients and colleagues.”
When he wasn’t busy making house calls with his young daughter, Jane, in the car, or reading EKGs after a busy day at Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Dr. Garvey enjoyed tennis, skiing, jumping waves, playing poker and bridge, work ing in the garden, and, more recently, sailing at the Devon Yacht Club with his son, Andrew Garvey of Amagansett. He and Ms. Williams enjoyed traveling, from houseboating in Botswana to kayaking Alaska’s outer islands to dancing in Cuba.
For 30 years Dr. Garvey volunteered for People Working Cooperatively, repairing houses for the elderly. At the age of 89, he was honored by the Sqtate of Ohio for his contributions to the organization and the community.
James McBrayer Garvey Jr. was born in Bronxville, N.Y., on March 18, 1928, to James McBrayer Garvey and the former Marie Fahnestock. He grew up in Bronxville, attending the Riverdale Country School, where, his family said, he was “allowed to be lefthanded,” and went on to graduate from Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts.
In 1950, he graduated from Princeton University, where he played squash; four years later he received his medical degree from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Garvey was stationed with the Army in Richland, Wash., from 1958 to 1960.
On June 5, 1954, Dr. Garvey married Mary Blair Buggie. She died in 2011. He and Ms. Williams were married in 2018, having discovered that for 20 years, their houses in Amagansett were one thousand feet apart.
In Cincinnati, Dr. Garvey volunteered for the 12th Street Clinic and served on the board of Episcopal Retirement Services. In Amagansett, he was a member and treasurer of the venerable St. Thomas Episcopal Chapel, at the entrance to the hamlet, and a member of the Amagansett Beach Association and the Devon Yacht Club.
In addition to his wife and son, he leaves his daughter, Jane Elizabeth Garvey, and her husband, John Emery Lanier, who live in Cincinnati; and his son’s wife, Patricia Halloran Garvey. Dr. Garvey also leaves a sister, Jane Garvey Adriance of Princeton, N.J.; five grandchildren, Blair Emery Lanier, Ike Denman Lanier, James Leo Garvey, Andrew McBrayer Garvey Jr., and Halloran Elizabeth Garvey, and two greatgrandsons, Lev Marion Barrett and Sallee Lanier Barrett. Many Gatch family cousins and relatives also survive.
Dr. Garvey was cremated. A small private service is to be held in his favorite place, Amagansett. A memorial for all his friends and family will be planned in Cincinnati in the spring of 2024.
Memorial donations have been suggested to the Hampton Lifeguard Association, 7 Meadow Way, East Hampton 11937; the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, 124 Daniel’s Hole Road, East Hampton, or the Cincinnati chapter of People Working Cooperatively, 4612 Paddock Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45229.
