Mary Chick remembers the gifts her elegant, elderly neighbor would bring back from Jamaica: straw sandals one year; a jumper another. Her grand piano that was so polished and clean — like a mirror — that she didn’t dare touch it. The meticulous way she kept her gardens and home; her warm smile and sophisticated, yet gentle, style.

When prominent Newbury resident, philanthropist, and conservationist Florence Evans Bushee died in 1975, the memories didn’t pass with her.