Carolyn Waring Verbeck of West Tisbury and Vero Beach, Fla., died on August 3 at the Martha's Vineyard Hospital. The cause of death was ultimately old age aggravated by bone fractures and a subsequent respiratory infection.

Carolie or Lee Lee, as those who loved and knew her, spent every summer of her 86 years on the Island. From 1980 until 2000 she lived year-round at her house in West Tisbury with her late husband, Guido F. Verbeck Jr. She loved the Vineyard and her cozy life at Seven Gates Farm.

She was born to Edward James Waring and Caroline Value Waring on Feb. 1, 1921, in Plainfield, N.J. Following in the footsteps of her older sisters Ann Waring Dunbar and Beverly Waring Cutler, she graduated from Miss Porter's School in 1939, a period she always remembered as one of the happiest times in her life. After her glamorous debut into society she spent a couple of years soaking up all the world had to offer - traveling by steam liner to Hawaii for an extended stay with her Aunt and Uncle in Honolulu, exploring ranch life in the West, taking an animal husbandry course at Rutgers and working briefly in Washington, D.C.

As a young wife and mother, Carolie lived in Oregon and California before returning to Plainfield, N.J., in 1948, where she raised her three children. From 1961 to 1965, she lived in New York city and spent the following eight years in Locust Valley, N.Y.

For the last 25 years she was devoted to her life on the Vineyard where she tended carefully to her beautiful gardens, went for long walks with her dogs and traveled a great deal. The Seven Gates Farm crew learned to dread her calls as she seemed to know every fallen branch or overgrown bittersweet vine on the farm and wasn't afraid to report it - she was even known to bring pruners with her on morning walks. Weekly tennis games and the Edgartown cocktail party circuit were also well-loved elements of her summers here. All her life Carolie turned heads with her elegant, colorful clothes - most of which were her signature blue - her flirtatious, crooked half-smile as well as her vibrant personality and her many opinions. A Sunday afternoon on Squibnocket with her blue striped beach chair and a good book or the latest Vogue was almost as good as it could get. Even when life became more complicated Carolie never forgot the reasons that she loved the Island so dearly - friendship, sunshine, salty water and living a little more simply.

Every day of her life she was a heck of a lot of fun.

Carolie had many close friends and relied heavily upon their presence in her life. Many of them were lifelong friends. Most mornings her phone started ringing at 8 a.m. and barely stopped before 9 p.m.

Carolie was predeceased by her husband Guido F. Verbeck Jr. and her former husband James Butler as well as her daughter Merrill Macleod Stenbeck and her granddaughter Remington F. Macleod. She is survived by two sons, Robert F Macleod Jr. of Malibu, Ca., and E.J.W. Macleod of Madison, Conn., as well as nine grandchildren, many stepchildren, and her sweet black Labrador retriever Tag, all of whom loved her very dearly.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday, August 18 at 11 a.m. at St. Andrew's Church in Edgartown, followed by a gathering at her house in West Tisbury.

In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Martha's Vineyard MSPCA, P.O. Box 2097, Edgartown, MA 02539, or to Miss Porter's School at Alumnae and Development Office, Miss Porter's School, 60 Main street, Farmington, CT 06032.