Our loving, stylish, funny and very well organized mother Abby Wakefield completed her remarkable life on June 19, 2024, at age 85. Abby had been a New Yorker for more than six decades but spent her last six months at Five Star Premier Residences of Yonkers. She was recently in hospice care for pancreatic cancer, an unexpected end to several years of treatment for peritoneal cancer.

Abby was born in Buffalo, NY, on March 6, 1939, to Josephine and Fletcher Hartshorn. Her father was a rising executive in New York Telephone who moved the family fairly frequently for work. Abby attended grade schools in Rye and Albany, NY, and high school in Ridgewood, NJ. As a testament to the importance she placed on friendships, Abby maintained life-long connections with special friends from throughout her girlhood. Birthdays were always marked by calls on the yellow wall phone and festive cards from near and far.

Abby graduated from Bennett College, Milbrook, NY, in 1959, with an Associate in Arts degree in Fashion Merchandising. She moved to Manhattan, lived in the Upper East Side off Madison with roommates, and worked in the garment district. She met her future husband William Miner at a holiday party in her apartment building. Abby and Bill were married in September, 1961, in Riverside, CT.

Abby worked at the office of the St. Anthony Club while Bill began his Psychology Ph.D, until they welcomed their daughter Reeve in 1964. Abby was the absolute best mother, creating magic out of the every day, with a child who delighted in her parenting. Highlights were the birthday parties and picnics in Central Park, unique picture books and LPs played on the kiddie record player. They welcomed their son Neal in 1970, always grateful to have “one of each.” Abby nurtured Neal’s early loves of Curious George, Planet of the Apes, and exploration. Both parents encouraged his passions of cross-country running, dirt biking, and music.

Abby grew along with the kids, taking roles in their PTAs and advocating for them in their schools and activities. She reentered the workforce by joining The Hired Hand, a fabric and handmade goods store where the women founders and coworkers forged close bonds. Abby thrived in this sisterhood, again making life-long close friends who helped shape her next chapter.

After a brief stint as a professional organizer, Abby determined her next career step was to become a school librarian. She earned a Bachelor of Science at Empire State College, graduating in 1989 with a concentration in Psychology and Psychoanalysis. She then earned a Masters in Library Science from Long Island University in 1996, distinguished as a member of the International Library Science Honor Society. Abby found her dream job of Librarian at The Churchill School for children with language based learning disabilities.

Abby and Bill had divorced in 1992 which allowed her to further define life on her own terms. In the decade that followed, Abby’s family grew to include two grandchildren, Faye and Wyatt. Abby did not let the fact that Reeve and her family lived in Seattle stop her from being the most wonderful grandmother. She visited frequently, wrote letters and cards to the children and planned special days for them when they came east each summer. Best of all, as a passionate librarian, she would send each child books perfectly tailored to their interests at every age.

Abby also became a world traveller, touring destinations throughout the United States, Canada, Africa, China, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. Her talent as a photographer blossomed as she documented her trips. Once she retired, Abby kept a full schedule, serving on her co-op board, writing the newsletter and managing the lobby book exchange, and photographing the wonders of New York City. She lived for close to 30 years in Yorkville, with a much adored view of the Empire State Building and endless gorgeous skyscapes.

Memorable moments include a 70th birthday celebration with many friends and surprise guests; the annual family reunion in Maine with her sisters and families; and, most special, the wedding of Neal to his long-time partner Clea Rivera. With life’s joys, however, come its setbacks. Abby lived with CMT, an inherited peripheral neuropathy, which never slowed her down, and she proudly walked for miles in her sophisticated carbon-fiber leg braces. Abby was treated successfully for stage four peritoneal cancer in 2019. In the years that followed, she began to experience cognitive decline as well as the return of the cancer. Throughout all the changes in her life, health and independence, Abby maintained her positive outlook and characteristic sense of humor, loving to make people laugh around her, no matter what the setting

Abby is survived by her daughter Reeve, son-in-law Mark, and grandchildren Faye and Wyatt; son Neal and daughter-in-law Clea; sisters Debby Hansen (Svend) and Pru Ryan (Louis); niece Maria Butler and family and nephew Steve Hansen and family. A Celebration of Life will be scheduled in the coming months.

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