June 20, 2011: An informal gathering will be held in Bicentennial Park on Thursday, June 23, at 11 am to remember Yvonne Leggett Dyer Sanford of Stamford, CT, formerly a longtime resident of Bronxville.

Yvonne died peacefully on June 3 at Simon Rosenthal Hospice Home in Stamford after a short stay. She had just celebrated her 94th birthday on May 19, at which time she was still vital and "zooming around" on her own steam.

Yvonne Leggett Dyer Sanford was born on May 19, 1917, in Brooklyn, NY, the youngest of three girls, to Frederic H. Leggett and Berthe Bohle Leggett. Early on the family moved to Westchester County, first to White Plains, and then later they settled in Scarsdale.

In addition to attending the Scarsdale school system, she was a boarding student at the Dwight School for Girls (now the Dwight/Englewood School) in Englewood, NJ, graduating in 1935. She received her BA degree in 1939 from Sweet Briar College in Sweet Briar, VA. Immediately after graduation she married her high school sweetheart, Daniel L. Dyer, also of Scarsdale. They moved to Bronxville in 1945, first living in apartments in Alger Court, and then moving to 8 Locust Lane, where she lived for almost 60 years. They had three children, Suzanne, Diana (also known as "Duffy"), and Daniel L. Dyer, Jr. (known as "Chip").

From the beginning of her time in Bronxville, Yvonne was involved in the community, volunteering at Lawrence Hospital, leading Brownie and Girl Scout troops, and joining the Junior League. She was extremely involved in the Junior League, being a provisional, regular, and sustaining member, and she was honored by them for her many contributions. These included establishing the Senior Citizen Centers in Tuckahoe and Bronxville. In addition, she conceived of the Bicentennial Park at the corner of Pondfield and Meadow near the Bronxville School. She worked tirelessly to raise the money to have the empty lot purchased and maintained as a park for all to enjoy. Other community activities included working for the United Way and the Mental Health Association of Westchester. She was also an avid supporter of Sweet Briar, working on fundraising and reunion committees.

The Dyers were avid tennis and paddle tennis players. They were founding members of the Fox Meadow Club in Scarsdale and longtime members of the Bronxville Field Club, where they competed in many club tournaments. Yvonne continued to play tennis at Concordia until she was 82.

Yvonne and Danny Dyer enjoyed music and dancing, participating in the Night Owls and gathering with friends to dance and sing around the piano, which Danny often played. They enjoyed gatherings to play bridge.

After Danny died in 1990, Yvonne married Gordon Sanford of Scarsdale, who had two children, the late Barbara Sanford Donohue of Bronxville and Jim Sanford of Warren, VT. Gordon moved into the house at 8 Locust Lane, where they lived until he died in 2002. She then sold the house and moved into Edgehill, an independent living community in Stamford, CT.

She is survived by her daughter Suzanne Dyer Wise and her husband, John Wise, of Dennis, MA; her daughter Diana D. Watson and her husband, Andrew Watson, of Amelia Island, FL, and Hendersonville, NC; her son, Daniel L. Dyer, Jr., and his wife, Catherine O. Dyer, of Telluride, CO; and her grandchildren, Allison Dyer Watson, Tyler Leggett Watson, Charles A. Dyer, and Daniel L. Dyer, III ("Trey"). In addition, she is survived by her step-son, Jim Sanford, and his wife, Ellen, and their three children, Owen, Gates, and Cooper, as well as the children of the late Jim and Barbara Donohue, Ben, Claire, and Mike.

Contributions can be made to the Visiting Nurse and Hospice Care (VNHC) of Southwestern CT, Inc., 1266 East Main Street, Stamford, CT 06902.