Margaret Mackay

Margaret Whelan Mackay, a 22-year resident of Rye, passed away October 9. 

She was born May 10, 1944 in Sydney, Australia, the daughter of Brian and Dympna Hickey Whelan. Meg, as she was known, was the second of 13 children. Her father was a schoolteacher.

For over 20 years, Mrs. Mackay was a teacher at Ursuline School in New Rochelle. While working as an educator, she developed a program on peer counseling and conflict resolution, for which she was honored by the school.

Mrs. Mackay’s close friend, Pat Geoghegan, said, “Meg was devoted to education. Her program for middle school girls provided valuable lessons for all.”

She married Ken Mackay on May 6, 1972. They enjoyed the arts and traveling together. “Our mom wouldn’t miss a Saturday night date with our dad,” said her children.

“She was passionate about family and used every opportunity to get us together,” said her daughter Claire Neary of Rye. “All of us felt we were lucky to have her these last few years.” In 2007, Mrs. Mackay was diagnosed with MDS, a rare form of leukemia. She had a bone marrow transplant in 2008. “Our mother was an incredible fighter and fought to the very end.”

In addition to her husband of 40 years, Mrs. Mackay is survived by her four children: Claire, Jon, Anna, and Julian; and seven grandchildren: Emma, Connor and Finn Neary, Benjamin and Charlotte Mackay, and Billie and Ismene Harborne. 

A mass of Christian Burial was celebrated October 13 Saturday at the Church of the Resurrection. A memorial service was held at the Ursuline School October 16.

Donations may be made in her memory to The Leukemia-Lymphoma Society, c/o Dennis Chillemi, 1311 Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 130, White Plains, NY 10605.

Patrick Lyons

Patrick J. Lyons, a 43-year resident of Rye, passed away October 3. 

Born in New York City on September 21, 1931, he was the son of Stephen and Margaret Flaherty Lyons. 

He graduated form Power Memorial High School, and later served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War. He went on to join the New York City Fire Department. Upon retiring, he became the owner of Lyons Den Bar and Restaurant in the Bronx. 

He and his wife Margaret (Mangan) were married for 56 years. She survives him, as do his five children: Jeanne, Patrick (Donna), Michael (Mary), Kevin (Marci) and Marianne (Paul). Mr. Lyons is also survived by nine grandchildren, and a brother, Timothy. His brother Stephen predeceased him.

A mass was celebrated at the Church of the Resurrection October 5.

David Plant

David William Plant, 81, husband, father, grandfather, friend and colleague to many, died September 26 in New London, New Hampshire, where he had resided since 1999.

Formerly a resident of New York City and Rye, he received his engineering and law degrees from Cornell University and was an associate, partner and Managing

Partner in the law firm of Fish & Neave (now Ropes & Gray) from 1957-1998. Since January 1999, he served as a mediator and arbitrator in more than 300 domestic and international disputes.

He also was an adjunct professor at Cornell Law School and UNH Law School, and taught at the University of Melbourne Law School, the University of Hong Kong, and Fribourg Law School in Switzerland. He wrote extensively on dispute resolution and led courses and workshops in arbitration and mediation for many organizations around the world.

A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, the American College of Civil Trial Mediators, and the College of Commercial Arbitrators, he received, in 2006, the American Bar Association’s “Lawyer As Problem Solver Award”.

He is survived by his wife Jeanie (Robinson) Plant, also of New London; two children, daughter Susan W. Plant and her husband Danyul M. Cho of Arlington, Massachusetts, and son Frank W. and his wife Karen P. Lilley of Boylston, Massachusetts; grandchildren, Mina Susan and Robert D. Lilley; stepchildren, John C. Baity Jr. and his wife Lisa of Bedford, New Hampshire, Keith F. Baity of Miami, and Cheryl R. Baity of Darien; and step grandchildren, Marco Baity Jesi, Brianne Jean Baity, Ryan Gonzalez-Falla, and Connor Gonzalez-Falla.

Memorial contributions may be made to Town of New London Emergency Animal Shelter, 275 Main Street, New London, NH 03257; The First Baptist Church, P.O. Box 336, New London, NH 03257; or Cornell Law School, 524 College Avenue, Ithaca, NY 14853.

Colette Schulz

Colette Prieur Schulz passed away peacefully September 15 at her home in Harrison after a long illness.

Born August 14, 1926, in Paris, France, to Raymond Prieur and Suzanne Guilbert, she grew up in Paris and lived her young adult life during the German occupation with her two sisters and their nanny, Madeline Simon. She received her French baccalaureate in 1944.

She had six children, one of whom, Francis, passed in 1960. Prior to moving to Harrison, she lived in Charleston, West Virginia, McLean, Virginia, Waterloo, Belgium, and Englewood, N.J.

In 1947, she moved to the United States with two infant sons and settled in Charleston, West Virginia. She married Helmut “Hap” Schulz in March 1954 and they had four children. She was a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Charleston where the family lived until 1963. They moved to Rye in 1972.

At the age of 55, Mrs. Schulz received a Bachelor of Arts in Art History from Columbia University’s School of General Studies.

Her amazing life was filled with love of family, friends, and many activities into which she poured her heart, including over 20 years at the Cloisters in New York City, where she was a Photo Archive Researcher and Assistant Decorator. She was also very active in Women’s Sailing at The Larchmont Yacht Club and taught many of her friends how to sail. She was also a member of the New York Yacht Club and the Cosmos Club of Washington, D.C. A longtime member of Christ’s Church, Rye, she was active in the Altar Guild and the Sunday school.

Admired by all who knew this graceful lady, she was filled with energy, willpower, and a passion for life, learning and giving back. News of her passing profoundly touched those who loved and admired her. The rock of her family, she was the embodiment of unconditional love. She will be greatly missed, but she lives forever in our hearts and minds, said her family.

Mrs. Schulz is survived by two sisters, Marie-Claude Bayle of Marseilles and Monique Eoche-Duval of Moissac, France; her four sons, Raymond of San Mateo, California, Roland of Harrison, Robert of Stamford, and Thomas of New York City; her daughter, Caroline Chechen of Otisville, New York; and seven grandchildren. Her husband passed away in 2006. Her son Francis died in 1960.

A memorial service will be held at Christ’s Church Saturday, November 10 at 10 a.m. Condolences and inquiries may be sent to ras257@columbia.edu. 

Donations in her memory may be made to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (www.themmrf.org).