In Loving Memory

Phyllis Ann Webb McCormick passed away June 14, 2026 at Waveny Care Center in New Canaan, Connecticut. She was 102 years old.

Born in New York City in 1923, Phyllis was the only child of renowned Saturday Evening Post illustrator Thomas Haggerty Webb and Grace Names Webb. She spent her childhood in New York and Connecticut, attended the Lenox School, the Oak Grove School and Finch College, where she studied French, literature and music – and enjoyed quoting Shakespeare all her life.

Phyllis worked at Bergdorf Goodman and Bonwit Teller before becoming a proofreader at Mademoiselle and later a copywriter/editor at Harper's Bazaar during the celebrated era of editors Carmel Snow, Diana Vreeland and art director Alexey Brodovitch. During WWII, she volunteered at Beekman Hospital in lower Manhattan, while living with her father at Bryant Park Studios at 80 West 40th Street. Neighbors included such notable artists as Charles Burchfield, Edward Steichen and Fernand Leger.

In 1950, she married US Navy Commander Willard F. McCormick Sr., with whom she shared roots in Tonawanda, New York. He was a founder of the international consulting firm Cresap, McCormick & Paget. Together they raised six children in Darien, Connecticut, where her artist father joined the family.

An ardent patriot and believer in civic responsibility, Phyllis became deeply involved in community life. She successfully campaigned for a new Darien high school, served as a Darien Library Trustee, supported historic preservation efforts and was a member of the Garden Club of Darien for more than 50 years. Long before environmental sustainability became mainstream, she promoted household recycling, installed solar panels on her house, and advocated for the protection of Connecticut wetlands and open space. Committed to educational opportunities for all children, Phyllis and her husband were founders of New York City's Inner-City Scholarship Fund, initiated in 1971 by Terence Cardinal Cooke.

Phyllis was predeceased by her husband, Willard, and her son-in-law Dewey Dellay. She is survived by her six children: Bill, Anne Hubbard (Seeley), Cathleen, Tom (Blu), Margaret and John; her grandson Addisu Thomas McCormick; niece Mary Berhalter; nephews Thomas K. McCormick, Michael McCormick (Magda) and their children.

The family extends its gratitude to her devoted caregivers, Ana Henriquez, Domitila Chirino and Blanca Fontanez, and the staff of Waveny Lifecare. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Inner-City Scholarship Fund of New York. Private burial will take place at Spring Grove Cemetery in Darien. A celebration of life will be announced at a later date.