Wendy Griswold Reily died peacefully on Oct. 15 in her beloved Martha’s Vineyard cottage, surrounded by family and friends. She was 81.

Wendy was born in Havana, Cuba on July 10, 1936, and lived in Peru and Chile before moving to New Orleans in 1940. She attended McGehee School and Westover Academy then Newcomb College where she met her beloved husband of 58 years, William Boatner Reily 3rd.

She had a lifelong passion for horticulture. Her gardens on Prytania street are listed on the Smithsonian Institution Archive of Garden Club of America Gardens. She and friends started Anything Grows and Plants Unlimited, decorating shops in the 1970s and 1980s. She served as a trustee of Longue Vue House and Gardens, Louise S. McGehee School, and as a life trustee of the Martha’s Vineyard Preservation Trust where she helped start the Taste of the Vineyard in 1986.

She was a member of the New Orleans Town Gardeners, The Everglades Club, New Orleans Country Club, La Confrérie des Chevaliers du Tastevin, Edgartown Yacht Club, Southern Yacht Club, The Boathouse, and Junior League of New Orleans. She performed for the Children’s Theater’s Taradiddle Players in the 1960s and 1970s. She was The Mystic Club Queen in 2005.

Wendy was known for her quick wit, sense of humor, and wonderful laugh. She was never at a loss for words. She was a New Englander, her Griswold ancestors were the first settlers of Connecticut, so she was happy to spend her last days in Martha’s Vineyard, looking out at her garden and the boats in Edgartown harbor. To be able to stay until after Columbus Day weekend was her final joy.

She is survived by her two children, Elaine Reily and Bo Reily, her daughters in law Marilyn Stern and Caroline Reily, her grandsons Will Reily and Hugh Reily, also by her brother George Griswold and sister in law Mary Madison Griswold. She was preceded in death by her husband and parents Jack Griswold and Nina Griswold, and her grandson Jack Reily.

Graveside services will be held at the family plot in Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery in Louisiana on Friday, Oct. 27 at 12:30 p.m.