Michael Perelstein
Michael Perelstein died March 17, biking among friends on a beautiful day. The Rye resident was 56.
Born to Zofia and Yasha Perelstein in Haifa, Israel, he moved with his family to Cologne, Germany, when he was 5. They immigrated to Boston in 1967.
His peripatetic childhood left him with a love of travel that he shared with his wife and children.
He met his future wife at summer camp when he was 16. They would have celebrated their 33rd wedding anniversary next week.
Mr. Perelstein received a B.A. in Economics from Brandeis University in 1976, and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago in 1986. He left a long career in international finance in 2004 and found his true calling teaching at Columbia and NYU Business schools.
Funeral services were held March 19 at the Friends Meeting House in Purchase.
In addition to his wife, Liz, he leaves behind two children, Sarah and Daniel.
Donations in Mr. Perelstein’s memory may be made to the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation.
Kathleen Pearson
Kathleen Patricia McMurtry Pearson died peacefully March 14 at her home at The Osborn after a long illness. She suffered from Alzheimer’s.
Born February 10, 1917, in Clovis, California to Dr. Milton and Lucretia Smith McMurtry, she was known as Pat. Her father 
had settled in Clovis in 1906 after first moving from his home in Batesville, Arkansas to Oklahoma, where he and his father, also a physician, developed a claim they obtained in the Oklahoma Land Run of 1889, when he was 9 years old. Dr. McMurtry was a leading physician in the Clovis area and the surgeon in charge of the local hospital, the Clovis Sanitarium.
Her mother’s family had migrated to the San Joaquin Valley in the 1860s from Arkansas.
She graduated from Clovis High School in 1934, Fresno State College (now University) in 1936, and Stanford University in 1938 with an A.B. in Speech and Drama. The following year she earned a Master’s degree in Education from Stanford. After a year teaching high school in Hawaii, she taught high school speech and English in San Francisco for three years.
In August 1942, she joined the U.S. Navy as an Ensign in the first class of the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service) and received her basic training at Smith College. Her older brother Clayton was already serving as a Navy airman in the Pacific. While in the service, she served in administrative positions in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, where she met her future husband, Nathan Pearson, who was her commanding officer.
They married in 1947 and moved to Niagara Falls. They then moved to Sewickley, Pennsylvania, where they remained until she moved to The Osborn’s Pavilion in 2006.
Mr. Pearson was the financial advisor to the descendants of Andrew W. Mellon, and a vice president of T. Mellon & Sons in Pittsburgh. He served as a director of numerous companies, including Gulf Oil, Alcoa Aluminum, and Hanna Mining, and was chairman and CEO of Mellon Bank. He passed away June 11, 2002.
Mrs. Pearson was active in numerous organizations in Sewickley and Pittsburgh, and served on the Boards of Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania, the Garden Club of Allegheny County, the Little Garden Club of Sewickley, the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, and the local chapter of the WAVES alumna organization. In 1989, she was named Sewickley’s Woman of the Year, in large part for her tireless work in local preservation and civic gardening.
An avid athlete, Mrs. Pearson enjoyed tennis, golf, and swimming.
“Pat was a loving, and beloved, daughter, sister, wife, mother, and grandmother,” said her family. “We’re grateful for her long, happy life, for her many cherished friendships, and for the outstanding care she received at The Osborn Pavilion.”
As one of her Osborn caregivers said the morning she passed away, “She had a smile that you can’t forget.”
In addition to her son Nathan W. Pearson Jr. and his wife Jane (Wallace) of Rye, she is survived by her three grandsons, Nathan, Howe, and Henry. Her son James passed away in 1971.
A service was held in her memory in The Osborn’s chapel March 19. Memorial celebrations will be held at a later date in Sewickley, Clovis, and Ledyard,
Connecticut.
Donations in Mrs. Pearson’s name may be made to Planned Parenthood or to The Osborn.
Shannon Carroll
Shannon McKay Carroll, of Stamford, died March 2, after a difficult battle with ALS. The disease took many things from this beautiful woman, but not her spirit, said her family, who was at her side.
She was born in Rye, November 4, 1960, to Anne and Wiley Cotton McKay. She came by her many interests and service to others honestly. Her maternal grandfather, J. William Lewis, was the landscape architect of the Rye Free Reading Room, City Hall, the Christ’s Church Columbarium, and United Hospital. Her paternal grandmother, Ellen McKay, wrote a “History of Rye Presbyterian Church” and was a founding member of the Rye Historical Society. Hugh McKay, her paternal grandfather, was a founding member of Rye Boy Scouts and Shenerock Shore Club.
A graduate of Resurrection School, Rye High School, and Hood College, she went on to hold editorial positions at Gannett, Guitar Magazine, and Bottom Line Health. In addition to being a talented editor, she was a poet, knitter, cook, and gardener. She also had a great love for and knowledge of music.
Ms. Carroll is survived by her husband, Peter Muir; her mother, Anne Lewis McKay; her siblings, Deirdre, Nancy, John, and Bill; and the nieces and nephews whom she adored, Isabel and Wiley Conte, and Mia, Cotton, and Maysa McKay. She was predeceased by her first husband, Christopher Carroll, and her father, Wiley McKay.
“Shannon was sweet, sincere, funny, and loving and lived every minute of her life to the fullest. She brought joy, happiness, and friendship to all who knew her and will be deeply missed,” said her family.
Contributions in Shannon McKay Carroll’s name may be made to the ALS support group, MAC Angels, 629 Fifth Avenue, Suite 115, Bldg. #3, Pelham, NY 10803.
Michael Ice
Michael Ice died the morning of February 25, after a tragic accident in New York City. He was 22.
He grew up in Rye and graduated from Rye High School in 2007. From there he went on to the University of Richmond Robins School of Business, from which he received a degree in 2011. He was a member of the SAE Fraternity, and served as the Special Events Chair.
He had recently began his professional career as a financial analyst with Merrill Lynch.
“He was a hard-working kid,” said his father Michael. “Though he was smart, diligent, and accomplished, his family and friends remember him most for his character, which he demonstrated time and again.” He added, “Mike had a beautiful smile that he loved to use.”
Michael Ice loved basketball, which he played well from a young age, and surfing, which he learned during the many summers he spent with his family in Narragansett, R.I. Richmond was a ‘home run’ for Mike, said his father.
One of his best friends from college, Matt Emmert, described him as a genuine, outstanding individual. The two became friends their freshman year and pledged the same time. “We always enjoyed spending time together at Richmond — whether it was sitting together talking on an old dorm sofa or playing basketball, which Mike did at every opportunity. He could dunk!”
Upon college graduation the friends felt a mixture of emotions. “None of us was sure where we were going to end up,” said Mr. Emmert. “All we were sure of was that we were going to miss spending time together. A great crew —close to 30 of us — found jobs in New York, and we were so happy to have this ‘satellite’ campus in the city these last months.”
Michael Ice will be greatly missed by his parents, Kathi and Michael Ice; his sisters: Megan, Emily, and Elizabeth; his brother Teddy; his grandmother, Anne Glasheen; his aunts and uncles: Meg and Conny Murray, Sheila and Kevin Crosby, Jim and Marlene Glasheen, Willa Grimm, Peter and Kim Ice, David and Judith Ayers, Valerie and Stephen Brown, and Susan and Joe Lilavois; and his cousins: Tim and Brian Murray, Tom Quaranta, Shane Crosby, Sierra Glasheen, Josh and Winnie Grimm, Whitney, Jenny, Ashley and Chelsea Ice, David Brown, and Brooke Lilavois.
A wake will be held February 28 from 4-8 p.m. at Graham Funeral Home. A mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at The Church of the Resurrection February 29 at 11 a.m.
A scholarship fund in his memory will be established at the University of Richmond, SAE fraternity.
In Memoriam
Sheila Moore Nields
Sheila Moore Nields died March 12, 2011. The former Rye resident was 97.
Born in Tucson, Arizona July 8, 1913, she was soon joined by two brothers, Milton and Tom. During her childhood her father served, alternately, as District Attorney for Pima County and as a local judge. He also served in the Arizona Territorial Legislature and, after statehood, in the Arizona State Legislature. In addition, he spearheaded efforts to bring aviation to southern Arizona and was able to introduce his young daughter to the visiting Charles Lindbergh – a highlight of her early life.
She entered Stanford University as a freshman but returned to Tucson, as the Great Depression worsened, to complete her undergraduate degree at the University of Arizona, where her father had become a professor of International Law.
Shortly after graduation she was married to William Brown of Pittsburgh, who had recently purchased a cattle ranch in nearby Sasabe. During her 12-year marriage to Mr. Brown she was actively involved in the operation and management of his ranch and traveled extensively in Europe both before and after World War II. While her husband served his country in the wartime Navy, she ran the Miami, Florida, chapter of the Red Cross Home Service Corps.
Upon her divorce from William Brown in 1949, she married Benjamin Nields and moved to his hometown of Rye. Her new husband was very active in County politics, running three times for the local U.S. Congressional seat. Mrs. Nields assisted in his political races and duties.
She joined the 10th Twig, which she served faithfully for many years. When she retired from the Twig Organization in 2001, she received the Corwin Award for outstanding service and dedication.
Mrs. Nields loved Rye, its beaches, its interesting people, its manicured spaces and, particularly, its less manicured spaces.
Throughout her life, she provided support to her mother and youngest brother when help was needed. For several years in the 1970s she lived with her brother in
Los Angeles, caring for him during his final illness.
In later years, Mrs. Nields took up dance as a way to keep fit. She joined the Noyes School of Rhythm in Portland, Conn., and loved going on annual retreats there. During the winter months she looked forward to weekly dances at the Colony Club in New York City.
Her only child, Benjamin Nields IV, was born in 1954. When her husband died unexpectedly in 1960, she raised her son single handedly. She traveled often with him and introduced him to politics when, in 1964, together they ran the Rye office of the Goldwater for President Campaign. Although probably not by design, she instinctively prepared her son, who now works for the U.S. Treasury Department, for public service.
“We love her dearly and greatly miss her pioneer spirit, fierce independence, and big heart,” said her son.
In addition to her son Benjamin and his wife Courtney, Mrs. Nields is survived by three grandchildren, Anne Cooper Nields, Benjamin Nields V, and Christopher Moore Nields, all of Connecticut.
Edmund Berrigan
Edmund Gerard Berrigan passed away peacefully February 12. The longtime Rye resident was 78.
Born April 27, 1933, in the Bronx, to John F. and Rose (Smith) Berrigan, he grew up in New Rochelle.
Mr. Berrigan, who was known as Gerry, graduated from Iona Prep in 1950 and the College of the Holy Cross in 1954. After spending two years in the Army, mostly in Germany, he joined with his brother in an insurance brokerage, Berrigan and Berrigan in New York City.
On November 28, 1959, Mr. Berrigan married Rosemary Alberti at the Church of the Resurrection. For the past half-century he resided in Rye.
In 1982, he and his brother sold their company to a larger national brokerage, which became Aon Corporation and from which he retired as a Senior Vice President in 1992. While at Aon he developed an insurance program for private golf and country clubs. His partner in this venture was a New Jersey firm, Bollinger, Inc., for which he opened an office in Greenwich in 1992.
Mr. Berrigan’s greatest avocation was golf, which he enjoyed at Westchester Country Club. During his long membership, he served the club in various capacities, including time on the Board of Governors and terms as Vice President and Chairman of the Board.
He was a Knight of Malta and a communicant at Resurrection Church. He also served as a trustee at School of the Holy Child, and on the Board of Managers of Lincoln Hall.
His wife, Rosemary, passed away in April 2002. Mr. Berrigan is survived by his son Edmund G. Berrigan Jr. and his wife Ann of Darien; his daughters Megara (Timothy McAward) of Harrison, and Michele (Michael Dolan) of Norwalk; his brother John F. Berrigan of Boynton Beach, Fla.; and four grandchildren: Kellyn and Brendan Berrigan and Erin and Timothy McAward Jr. He was predeceased by a sister, Joan Cunningham, and a brother, Donald Berrigan.Calling hours are Tuesday, February 14, 4-8 p.m. at Graham Funeral Home. A funeral mass will be held February 15 at 10 a.m. at Church of the Resurrection. Interment will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Rye Brook.
Contributions in Mr. Berrigan’s memory may be made to the Lustgarten Foundation, 1111 Stewart Avenue, Bethpage, NY 11714.
Dr. Tien-ding Chang
Dr. Tien-ding Chang, formerly a geneticist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and its Walker Laboratory in Rye, passed away peacefully in his bed February 8.
Many in Westchester will remember the impeccably dressed Dr. Chang walking along Boston Post Road, picking up every piece of litter as he went. His years of volunteer service cleaning up the Boston Post Road Historic District were legendary, and the subject of articles in The Rye Record, The Daily Item, and The New York Times.
He was born in Chuansha Pudong in Shanghai, China, on Christmas Eve 1921 (October 13, 1921 in U.S. official records). He graduated from Zhejiang University and received an M.S. in Plant Genetics from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in Cytogenetics from Iowa State University. He was a post-doctoral fellow at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and conducted genetics research at the University of Manitoba, University of Missouri, and Memorial Sloan-Kettering.
Dr. Chang loved biology and gardening all his life, and was a founding member of the board of the Friends of the Marshlands, and a crucial advocate in the acquisition of the John Jay Homestead (Jay Heritage Center) in Rye. The Westchester County Board of Legislators and George Latimer paid tribute to Dr. Chang for his “extraordinary acts of unselfish service to his community” and proclaimed March 17, 2002 to be “Dr. T.D. Chang Day”.
He is survived by his wife, Chih-chih Lee Chang; his sons, Ta-kuang and Ta-wen Chang; and his grandchildren, Ariane, Morgane, Aaron, and Annie Chang.
Donations in Dr. Chang’s memory may be made to Friends of the Marshlands, Inc., P.O. Box 237, Rye, NY 10580.
