A conservationist who was fond of birds and dogs in particular, Polly Bruckmann devoted many years to organizations that benefited the environment and the community.
She was past chair of the South Fork-Shelter Island chapter of the Nature Conservancy; a board member of the Audubon Society and the Village Preservation Society of East Hampton; a past president of the Garden Club of East Hampton, and a board member of the East Hampton Beach Preservation Society. She monitored beaches for piping plovers and least terns, her family wrote, and was a leader in efforts to restrict beach driving.
For the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, she was president of the board from 2005 to 2010. She bred and cared for many Shelties over the years.
Mrs. Bruckmann, of Lily Pond Lane and Manhattan, died on Sept. 3 following a fall. She was 90.
Her “tireless desire to preserve East Hampton Village, its residents, ways of life, and particularly its natural environment were parallel to none,” wrote Kathleen Cunningham, executive director of the Village Preservation Society. “She will be sorely missed.”
Polly Bruckmann was born Mary Thudium in Philadelphia on Feb. 1, 1934, to William and Elizabeth Thudium. She graduated from the Shipley School there and from Mount Holyoke College, and later took a master’s degree in philosophy from the New School for Social Research.
Her husband was Donald J. Bruckmann, to whom she was married for 42 years until his death in 1999.
Mrs. Bruckmann enjoyed golfing, and for a time was chairwoman of the Maidstone Club’s ladies’ golf committee. She was also a member of the Devon Yacht Club in Amagansett and the Colony Club in Manhattan, and was a parishioner at the East Hampton Presbyterian Church. Her interests included Asian art, photography, and international travel.
Mrs. Bruckmann, who did not have children, is survived by numerous cousins, nieces, nephews, and many friends in East Hampton and beyond. Memorial donations have been suggested to the Animal Rescue Fund, online at arfhamptons.org.
