Virginia Biles Tully

Virginia Biles Tully, 93, widow of John J. Tully and resident of Bellport, NY for over 50 years, passed away in her home in Bellport on September 18, 2009. Mrs. Tully was born and raised in Fair Hill, MD the daughter of the late Ernest and Elizabeth Biles of Brick Hill Farm. She graduated from West Nottingham Academy in Colora, MD, and then attended Larsen College now Quinnipiac University in Hamden, CT; upon graduation, she worked in Philadelphia and then New York City. Mrs. Tully and family moved to Bellport in 1955. She was a Republican committeewoman for several years; in 1962 she bought Plain and Fancy Dress Shop with Louise Warburton, also of Bellport and originally from Pocomoke City, MD. She and Mrs. Warburton were business partners until 1985 when Mrs. Warburton passed away. Mrs. Tully was also the first woman president of the Bellport Chamber of Commerce and was instrumental in developing Bellport Day and other Chamber of Commerce events for the village. Mrs. Tully continued to run Plain and Fancy for a few years more until she retired in 1992. She later rented the building which had housed Plain and Fancy to a group of artists who converted the space into an art gallery. Mrs. Tully is survived by her son, John H. Tully, her daughter-in-law, Janet Buckingham, her grandson, Rohan Buckingham Tully, all of London, England, and her daughter, Susan G. Tully, of Hampton Bays, NY. Interment will be in Sharpe's Cemetery, Fair Hill, MD, on September 25. A memorial service will be held at the Bellport United Methodist Church in Bellport on September 28 at 11 AM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent in Mrs. Tully's name to the American Farmland Trust, 1200 18th Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20036.