Barbara McBryde Whittington died peacefully at her home in Gainesville, Florida, on April 30, 2018 at the age of 91.
Born December 23, 1926 in New York City, she was the daughter of Winifred A. and William R. White. She graduated from the Knox School and from Finch College.
A horticultural expert and award-winning flower arranger, she was a member of The Rye Garden Club and the Garden Club of America. She studied at the Ohara School of Ikebana in New York City.
“Our mother always had a flower and herb garden,” recalled her children, “and if we couldn’t find her in the house, we knew we’d find her knee-deep in garden beds, digging, planting, and creating beauty.”
She was an avid sailor and a former longtime member of American Yacht Club. She was a patron of the Metropolitan Opera and the New York Philharmonic, and of the Center for Performing Arts at the University of Florida.
Barbara Whittington will be remembered for her great sense of humor and for spreading laughter wherever she went.
She was preceded in death by her husband of 56 years, Thomas H. McBryde, and by her late husband, Jere O. Whittington.
Mrs. Whittington is survived by her children, Elise McBryde and her husband, Edgar Tobin Scruggs, of Atlanta, Georgia, William H. McBryde, of Mamaroneck, N. Y., and John T. McBryde, of St. Augustine, Florida. She is also survived by her grandson, Evan C. Maloney and his wife, Jill, of New York, and her great-grandson, Cooper C. Maloney.
Respecting her wishes, Mrs. Whittington will be interred next to her children’s late father, in a lovely little garden at Christ’s Church, “so that both are back home in Rye.” The service will be held July 3, 2018.
Donations in Barbara McBryde Whittington’s memory can be made to The Village at Gainesville Foundation, 8000 NW 27th Blvd., Gainesville, FL 32606.
