Mary Gay Townsend, beloved mother and wife, passed away peacefully Thanksgiving morning, November 28th in Oyster Bay Cove, New York. She was 65.

Her husband, James (Jamie) Townsend, said her death, at home, came at the end of a 26-year fight against cancer. Despite her long term fight with cancer it never defined her. Throughout her professional and private pursuits she always brought a dedicated and cheerful attitude, never forgetting what was core to her. She was known among many for her kindness and ferocity and has left a lasting impact on those in her life`.

Born number 6 in a family of 13 in Montclair, New Jersey, Mary Gay was a fighter from the start. After attending George Washington University and the French Culinary Institute, she moved to New York City and got a job at Smyth-Teeman, an executive recruiting firm. In 1984, Mary Gay was introduced to Jamie through work. The two were married in Montclair, New Jersey on September 15th, 1985 and moved to a cottage in Oyster Bay.

They welcomed their first child, Theodora (Teddie) Townsend in 1988, followed by Zoe Townsend in 1990, and James (JB) Townsend Jr. in 1992. During this period, she ran a small, local catering business while raising the three children. With the expanded family, they moved into the house that Jamie had grown up in 1993 in Oyster Bay. She ran in the Newport marathon as well as several local races and was a avid tennis and golf player with her close group of friends on Long Island.

In 1998, she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 38. After completing treatment and going into remission, the family moved to Sun Valley, Idaho for a change of pace and returned to Oyster Bay in the summer of 2000.

In 2001, Mary Gay & James welcomed their fourth child, Faith Townsend. Over the course of the next couple of years, Mary Gay co-founded the Brightside Company, focused on providing organizational tools and accessories to women diagnosed with cancer as a way to bring more humanity to a process that could be dehumanizing.

In 2005, Mary Gay made the decision to go back Executive Recruiting full time after having been out of the business for almost 20 years. She started working at F.S. Von Stade in New York City and began rebuilding her network and reputation in the industry. Over the course of the next ten years, she continued to build her career in the space, consistently nurturing an ever-expanding network and reputation for her abilities.

In 2015, following a ski accident, bone cancer was discovered in her left knee – the same day she resigned from her previous job to begin her next venture. Mary Gay took the diagnosis in stride and beat all expectations with her recovery – most importantly to her, riding a bicycle within 6 months of her leg surgery.

Along with her two business partners, Chandler Holbrook and Kylie Hart, Mary Gay co-founded Norgay Partners in 2015 a boutique Executive Recruiting Firm. There she led the team in placing top talent at some of the best financial institutions in the world. During her tenure, she grew the firm as they expanded to the West Coast and set up a partnership with Carpenter Farraday in London, all while battling various types of cancer.

Mary Gay is predeceased by her father, George Miller, her mother, Joanne Feenan, her brother George Miller Jr. and her beloved dog Cosimo.

She is survived by her husband, Jamie and her four children, Teddie, Zoe, JB and Faith as well as her garden, of which she was both immensely proud and constantly pruning.

Services will be held at St. John's Church in Cold Spring Harbor, New York, on Friday December 6th at 12PM ET.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where Mary Gay received ongoing treatment and support from an incredible team of doctors, nurses and support staff, led by Dr. Modi.