Mary Warner King Babcock, of Old Greenwich, CT, died Wednesday, March 27, 2019, in Old Greenwich. Mary was born on April 9, 1926, in Brooklyn, N.Y., of Emma and Warner King. She attended the Woodward School and the Packard Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn. In 1944 she graduated from the Masters School in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. She received her Bachelor of Arts from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie in 1948. Upon graduation she and four great friends spent the summer driving across the United States. It was the trip of a lifetime.
In September of 1949 she married Henry Nash Babcock and first settled in Mount Vernon, N.Y. In 1952 they moved to Old Greenwich. Nash, as her husband was called, died in 2002. Mary was a devoted wife to Nash, a loving, nurturing mother to six children, and a trusted and beloved friend to many. She loved travel, the symphony, and volunteer work. She volunteered at the Red Cross blood program and Greenwich Hospital. The Red Cross recognized her faithful work and awarded her the distinguished service award. Later in life she visited prisoners at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, CT. She served on the boards of the Greenwich Hospital Auxiliary, the Greenwich Chapter of the American Red Cross, the Greenwich Medical Emergency Service, and the Greenwich Adult Day Care Center. Mary also loved a good laugh and fun. She and Nash were famous for water fights in the kitchen after cleanup and pulling pranks on their children and friends.
She and her husband were members of the Rocky Point Club, and Innis Arden Golf Club in Old Greenwich, as well as the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and the Coral Beach and Tennis Cub in Bermuda.
In 1955 she and Nash co-founded The Nash Babcock Engineering Company in the third floor of their Old Greenwich home. Working together they grew the company into Babcock & King, Incorporated, where Mary served as Chairman, after Nash’s death, until 2007.
Mary is survived by six children – the Rev’d Theodore S. Babcock and his wife, Lyn, of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Warner King Babcock and his wife, Trisha, of Stamford, CT; Mary Nash Babcock and her spouse Lindsay, of Concord, Mass.; William Nash Babcock and his wife, Victoria, of Duxbury, Mass.; Carol Babcock Perreten and her husband, Crit, of Ridgefield, CT; David Sherman Babcock and his wife, Kim, of Easton, CT, and a sister, Carol King Shackleton, of Wilmington, Del. Mary is also survived by 17 grandchildren and 16 great-grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, April 6 at 10 a.m. at St Paul’s Episcopal Church, 200 Riverside Ave.
In lieu of flowers the family would appreciate a donation to the charity of their choice.
