Information through DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home
Shirley Elizabeth Thompson Glanz, a former Southampton resident, died at her home at Peconic Landing in Greenport on Saturday, May 30. He was 90 years old.
Shirley was born on December 26, 1924 in Bridgeport, Connecticut to Dorothy Elizabeth Merkwacz and Paul William Thompson.
He is a descendant of Anthony Thompson, one of the original founders of the 1638 Connecticut colony of New Haven.
A member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, she was also a sixth-generation descendant of Thaddeus Thompson, a Revolutionary War drummer and soldier who wintered at Valley Forge and was wounded at the Battle of Yorktown.
Shirley met her future husband Edward Coleman Glanz in the first grade in Norwalk, Connecticut, who became a Second Lieutenant in the Army Air Corp and later became the first president of Long Island University's Southampton College.
The two were married in Georgia on August 3, 1944 while she was attending nursing school in Connecticut.
Their sons Erich Coleman Glanz and Gary Tristan Glanz were born while the couple lived in Hamden Connecticut.
The family later moved to Sharon, Massachusetts before moving to Southampton in 1963, where Shirley helped her husband establish Southampton College.
In Southampton Shirley was active in the First Presbyterian Church and a member of the local DAR chapter.
During the 1970s and 1980s Shirley's five grandchildren were born. Andrew Coleman Glanz, Tristan Anthony Glanz, Devin Anthony Glanz, Emilie Estelle Glanz Nobles and Julia Ann Glanz.
In 1986, Edward died at the age of 61.
In 2002, Shirley moved to Peconic Landing in Greenport.
She participated as a “Peconic Landing Pioneer” and ambassador for Peconic Landing.
She enjoyed playing bridge, attending operas and dining with friends, as well as the many family gatherings at Peconic Landing which she lovingly called the “ExtravaGlanzas.”
Shirley's seven great-grandchildren were born during her years at Peconic Landing. Anthony Douglas Glanz, Bailey Elizabeth Nobles, Dylan Edward Glanz, Margaret Elizabeth Glanz, Natalie Susan Glanz, Trevor Tristan Glanz and Edward Coleman Glanz II.
She is survived by her brother George Thompson of Fayetteville, Ohio; two sons, Erich Coleman Glanz and wife Barbara of Bayport, NY, and Gary Tristan Glanz and wife Diane of Southampton, NY; five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.
Memorial donations in her memory may be made to the Peconic Landing Employee Appreciation Fund in Greenport.
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