Lydia Tyner Anderson, age 95 died peacefully on July 21 at Maplewood Assisted Living in Darien.
Daughter of Eileen and Ralph Tyner, she was a lifelong resident of Old Greenwich.
She attended the Grey Court School and graduated from Vassar College in 1944. She worked as an editor at Time Life magazine until she married James Anderson III, also of Old Greenwich.
She was active in town affairs for many years.
A founder of the Greenwich Arts Council in 1972, she initiated and served as project director of Sculpture ’76, the Arts Council’s Bicentennial project, which brought to Greenwich fifteen monumental outdoor sculptures by America’s leading artists, including Alexander Calder, Willem de Kooning, Claus Oldenburg, and George Rickey.
Two sculptures from the exhibition were acquired for permanent installation: George Segal’s Girl Standing in Nature in Bruce Park, and Lila Katzen’s Priapos in Roger Sherman Baldwin Park. She also served as director of Sculpture 350 celebrating the town’s 350th anniversary of Greenwich with a gift to the Town of Deborah Butterfield’s two bronze horses, which are standing in Bruce Park.
A trustee of the Greenwich Library and a longtime member of the Friends of Greenwich Library, she organized the Library’s Art Gallery committee, providing information on artists and exhibits for the public.
She was a member of the Representative Town Meeting for 12 years, serving as secretary of District Six and the Education Committee, a member of the boards of the Old Greenwich Riverside Community Center and the Greenwich League of Women Voters, and a teacher for Stamford Head Start and the First Congregational Church Sunday School. She also volunteered at Darien Book Aid.
Lydia was an active alumna of Vassar College, serving as Co chairman of her 25th and 60th Reunions, editor of her 50th Reunion Book, and Class President. She was also a freelance writer and the author of four books of nonfiction for children. She was bridge life master and an avid traveler – Lydia loved being by the water, at her home in Old Greenwich, the Riverside Yacht Club, and the Hillsboro Club in Florida.
Survivors include two sons, Edward T. of Westwood, Massachusetts and James T. of Riverside, two daughters, Leslie Anderson Petrick of Greenwich, and June Anderson of New York City, and eight grandchildren. Her husband James Anderson III predeceased her.
A memorial service will be held at the First Congregational Church in Old Greenwich on Saturday September 1st at 10:30 a.m. In Lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Darien Book Aid, or Vassar College.