Marilyn Ann Fordham Acquino, formerly of Southampton, New York and Westport, succumbed to the Covid-19 virus May 1 in Riverhead at the Peconic Bay Medical Center. She was 88.

Marilyn was born to William and Caroline Fordham on April 16, 1932 in Southampton. She grew up in Southampton, visiting often with her maternal grand parents Tony and Carolyn Halsey Wilde and her father’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Irving Terry, who owned the Irving Hotel.

Between “Carrie” Wilde who was a hoot, and her grandmother Terry who was a snoot, she had quite a wonderful childhood. During the war, the Fordhams moved to Akron, Ohio where Bill built fighter planes.

After the war the family moved to Westport where Marilyn met her husband and high school sweetheart John G. Acquino. They would have celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary this June.

Patricia M. McCarthy, a longtime resident of Westport, died May 31 at Norwalk Hospital. She was 76.

Born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, she graduated from Staples High School in 1961 and Carlow University in 1965.

She began her career as a speech pathologist in Baltimore, lived abroad for several years and raised two children.

In 1989, Patricia turned her love of books into a business, co-founding Cornell & McCarthy, an agency that represented illustrators specializing in artwork for children’s books.

Stuart W. Lawson of Westport died May 27 after a short battle with cancer. He was 79.

He is survived by his two children, Sarah Dransfield and her husband Billy also of Westport, and Mark of San Francisco. Additionally, he is survived by his grandchildren, Whitney and Will Dransfield and Beatrice and Aria Lawson. He is also survived by his brothers Ray and David and his sister Laurie Wycoff. He was predeceased by his wife Shelley in 2006.

He was born in Binghamton, New York the son of the late Stuart W. Lawson and the late Betty S. Lawson. He was educated in Binghamton and was graduated in 1963 from Wilkes University with a B.A. in economics and in 1965 from Babson College with an M.B.A.

In 1965 after graduation from Babson, he married the former Shelley Smith, also from Binghamton, and they located to New York City.

Robert M. Whitaker Jr, of Saratoga Springs, New York, a former Westport resident, died May 30 in hospice care after a brief illness. He was 88.

Born in New York City on Feb. 16, 1932, he was the son of the late, Robert M. and Eleanor (Alexander) Whitaker Sr. and was raised in Westport.

In addition to his parents, Bob is predeceased by his first wife, Patricia (Foster) Whitaker.

He is survived by his wife, Tinker Chaplin Whitaker; his children, Kent A. Whitaker (Mona), Wende W. Neitzel (Mike), Kaiser C. Chaplin and Robert A. Whitaker (Laurie); his grandchildren, Stevenson, Katherine, James, Jack and Estelle; his sisters, Sally W. Freud (Raymond) of Cherry Hill, NJ, Anne W. Eaton (Frederick) of Stonington, Conn.; his brother in law, John F. Foster (Lorraine) of Sun City, FL.; as well as several nieces and nephews.