Lucile Moody Baring-Gould

Lucile Marguerite Moody Baring-Gould, known as “Ceil”, died on June 27, 2010, at the age of 96 after several years of declining health. She was born on April 4, 1914 in Mablehurst, Wisconsin, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Robert James Moody. After her family moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, she attended St. Mary’s Hall and then the University of Minnesota where she was president of her college student body and earned a BBA degree. It was there that she met William Stuart Baring-Gould whom she married in 1936.
Mrs. Baring-Gould and her husband moved to New York City where he was originally employed by Hearst Publishing later by Time, Inc.. She greatly enjoyed the world of fashion and design and began work in NYC at Macy’s department store, as a manager and model. Later she worked on the staff of fashion publications in the United States and for international couture designers.
When World War II began she was on the staff of the New York City Aircraft Warning Service working at Eastern Headquarters with a top security clearance. She was not allowed to tell anyone, including her husband, what she was doing and she was required to take a different route to her destination every day.
In 1952 Mrs. Baring-Gould and her husband moved to Pound Ridge, NY, where they had purchased a 200 year-old Colonial farmhouse, later designated an historic home. Her interest in education led her to become President of the PTA, Editor of the Bedford Central School System Newsletter, on the Board of Education Nominating Committee, and a member of the Adult Education Advisory Board.
In 1962 Mrs. Baring-Gould co-authored with her husband “The Annotated Mother Goose”. The book was reviewed on the front page of the “New York Times Book Review” and became a bestseller. The two collaborated in extensive literary research, mostly done in England, discovering the origins and meaning of more than one thousand traditional old nursery rhymes. The Baring-Gould’s interest in the lore of children’s literature stemmed from the writings of Mr. Baring-Gould’s grandfather, the Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould.
Mrs. Baring-Gould was committed to her community of Pound Ridge and was active in government there. She was the first President of the Pound Ridge League of Women Voters and a member of the Board of Directors of the New York State League of Women Voters. She was the first woman elected to any town office when she was elected to the Town Council in 1968. She served as Deputy Town Supervisor for seven years. She also served on the Zoning Board of Appeals and the Board of Assessment Review.
After the death of her husband and son, she turned her interests toward real estate in the early 1970’s. She became a licensed broker with the firm Houlihan/Lawrence, Inc. and was a member of Sotheby’s International Realty. Her endeavors in real estate resulted in a number of local and national awards, ranging from membership in the Million Dollar Club every year for thirty-two years, the Gold Award for top sales in Westchester County, and the Realtor of the Year Award for Westchester County. She was President of the Westchester Women’s Council of Realtors and was on the Executive Committee of the Westchester Board of Realtors. She served on the Professional Standards and Arbitration Board for 15 years.
Mrs. Baring-Gould was active on the board of directors of several organizations, among them the Westchester Lighthouse for the Blind, the Seven Springs Foundation, and the Pound Ridge Nature Conservancy now the Pound Ridge Land Conservancy where she was Chairperson for ten years. She was also a member of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Bedford, NY.
In 1999 Mrs. Baring-Gould moved from New York to Atlanta to be near her daughter and family. She resided at Canterbury Court on Peachtree Street. Since she had a life-long love of books and reading, she was one of the founders of the Canterbury Court Book Club, and a book was never far from her hand even in her last months.
Although Mrs. Baring-Gould was preceded in death by her son, William Drake Baring-Gould II, in 1966, and her husband, William Stuart Baring-Gould, in 1967, she is survived by her daughter, Judy Baring-Gould Orthwein, and son-in-law, Adolphus Busch Orthwein, Jr., and by her grandchildren, Adolphus Busch Orthwein III and wife Ellen, William Drake Orthwein and wife Tabitha, and Pam Orthwein Jensen and husband Colby. She is also survived by seven great grandchildren and other relatives including Linda Watten, Bob Watten, and Jeff Miller.
In lieu of flowers memorial contributions may be made to The Pound Ridge Land Conservancy, P.O. Box 173, Pound Ridge, NY 10576, or to the Hiram Halle Memorial Library, 271 Westchester Avenue, Pound Ridge, NY 10576. A memorial service for Mrs. Baring-Gould will be held later this summer