Peggy Newbauer Gerry, a longtime resident of Roslyn and one of the driving forces behind the restoration movement in the village, died last Saturday. She was 81.

Mrs. Gerry was the wife of Dr. Roger Gerry, himself a longtime Village of Roslyn Board of Trustee member. After moving to Roslyn in the early 1950s and becoming concerned over the fate of the village's many historic residences, the couple founded both the Roslyn Landmark Society and the Roslyn Preservation Corporation. Literally hundreds of historic homes have been restored thanks to the couple's tireless devotion to historic preservation.

According to friends, Mrs. Gerry had a "long and industrious career in the pursuit and preparation of beauty." Her determination led her to pursue interests not only in the fine arts, but also within the worlds of architecture, decorative arts, and the landscaped as well as the wild environments.

A native of San Francisco, CA, Mrs. Gerry graduated from Mills College in Oakland in 1942, with a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Art. Two years later, she married Roger Gerry. Mrs. Gerry also studied art at the California School of The Fine Arts, the Pennsylvania Academy of The Fine Arts, and the Art Students League in New York City.

Mrs. Gerry's first exhibition was in 1948 at the Philadelphia Art Alliance. After a ten-year hiatus, there was a flurry of showings including two in Japan in 1958, and three at various New York galleries, from 1958-1964. In the year of her final exhibition, she was the subject of biographical articles in Connoisseur and Apollo magazines. In the latter publication, she was noted as being gifted and her renderings as being "grounded in earnest and thorough observation." Peggy Gerry did not confine herself to the limits of contemporary U.S. culture, but rather expanded to include differing time periods as well as cultures. She was also influenced by the Japanese sense of beauty and art.

The Gerrys moved to Roslyn in 1950. In time, her exhibitions came to a halt as her energies were now directed toward restoring historic homes threatened by deterioration. The Gerrys rose to the challenge to change Roslyn from a community plagued by traffic and deteriorating buildings to a restored historical village. Her canvas transformed into the buildings of Roslyn. Her brush into the hammer, wood, and nails would regenerate the old and sorry elements that comprised each house.

To the Gerrys, historical accuracy was always of primary importance. The couple employed the necessary tools, be it paint analysis or archaeology, to recreate the beauty of a bygone era. An example of Mrs. Gerry's commitment came when she once held a bulldozer at bay for two hours from its intended victim, an 18th century house. The house was ultimately destroyed, an event which galvanized the Gerrys to create a public awareness of the historical and aesthetic value of the community. It worked. Soon, the couple founded the Roslyn Landmark Society. The society educated not only village residents; it also became a model for historic renovation all throughout the United States.

The couple also founded a sister organization to the Landmark Society, the Roslyn Preservation Corporation. This organization was dedicated to procuring historic buildings and subjecting them to a complete period restoration as completely and as accurately as possible. From 1976 to 1988, Mrs. Gerry served on the board of directors of the corporation.

The third challenge was to maintain the homes as accurately restored buildings. For this project, the Historic District Board was created. Beginning in 1962, Mrs. Gerry was an appointed member of the HDB. In 1972, she was appointed chairwoman of the HDB, where she labored diligently to ensure that the integrity of the buildings in Roslyn were not to endure inappropriate alterations or demolition. Mrs. Gerry also served as curator of the Federal Period Museum Rooms at the William M. Valentine House in Roslyn. Roslyn Landmark Society members claim that Peggy Gerry worked harder than almost anyone else to make sure Roslyn remained historic and beautiful.

While restoration work in Roslyn consumed most of her talents and attention, Mrs. Gerry did find time to be a member of both the board of trustees for the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities and the Nassau County Museum of Fine Art Association, along with being a life fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Mrs. Gerry was also on the buildings and grounds committee for the Clayton Estate, the former Lloyd Bryce/Childs Frick Residence, which is now the grounds of the Nassau County Museum of Fine Arts.

In 1990, she became one of the first approved professional affiliateship members of the American Institute of Architects, Long Island Chapter. Other honors included an award from The Victorian Society in America (1985) and a Certificate of Appreciation from the AIA, also given in 1985. In 1991, she received the Howard Sherwood Award of the Society for the Preservation of Long Island Antiquities. Other awards came from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Village of Roslyn, and the Wilderness Society.

Recent projects included the restoration of historic buildings on both East Broadway and Northern Boulevard. Mrs. Gerry's dedication to historic renovation included not only houses, but greenbelts and gardens as well. Her last project was the restoration of the Marion Cruger Coffin Gardens at the Nassau County Museum of Fine Arts. It was completed this September.

Towards all these restoration projects, Mrs. Gerry contributed substantially of her time and also very considerably of her knowledge, as well as raising a significant part of the funds necessary for such historic preservation.

Roslyn now serves as a model for not only Long Island, but the nation, and one of the chief architects is one woman whose sense of beauty and historical love propelled her to do whatever she could in the preservation of her adopted hometown.

Contributions in Mrs. Gerry's memory can be made to the Nassau County Museum of Fine Arts to support the Marion Cruger Coffin Garden.