American socialite (1924–2019)
Cynthia Cary Van Pelt Russell (October 16, 1924 – November 24, 2019) was an American socialite, who was part of American 'High Society' in New York and Newport, Rhode Island, and is a first cousin once removed of Diana, Princess of Wales.
Early life.
She is the daughter of Guy Fairfax Cary (1879–1950) and Cynthia Roche (1884–1966), who married in 1922. From her mother's first marriage to Arthur Scott Burden, she had an older half-sister, Eileen Burden. Her older brother was Guy Fairfax Cary Jr., who did not marry.
Her maternal grandparents were James Roche, 3rd Baron Fermoy and Frances Ellen Work, and her mother's siblings were Maurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy (the maternal grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales), and the Hon. Francis Burke Roche. Her paternal grandparents were Elizabeth Miller Potter and Clarence Cary, who grew up at Vaucluse plantation with his sister, Constance Cary. Elisabeth Miller Potter was a granddaughter of Alonzo Potter. Her great-grandparents, Archibald Cary and Monimia Fairfax were a Southern planter aristocrat family. Archibald Cary was the son of Wilson Jefferson Cary and Virginia Randolph. Monimia Fairfax was the daughter of Thomas Fairfax, 9th Lord Fairfax of Cameron.
Cynthia's parents resided at 61 East 91st Street in Manhattan and at "Oak Hill" in Jericho, New York. She graduated from the Chapin School on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. During World War II, she served as a nurse's aide.
Personal life.
On August 23, 1947, she was married to Charles Bingham Penrose Van Pelt (1922–2003) at Trinity Protestant Episcopal Church in Newport, Rhode Island. Charles was the son of Andrew Van Pelt and Sarah Hannah Boies Penrose. A lawyer, he graduated from Groton, Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania Law School and served in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence in the Pacific during the War. Before their divorce, they had two sons and daughter:
She later married Edwin F. Russell (1914–2001), an American newspaper publisher. He had previously been married to Lady Sarah Spencer-Churchill, daughter of John Spencer-Churchill, 10th Duke of Marlborough from 1943 until their divorce in 1966. Winston Spencer Churchill, a grandson of the prime minister, served as a page at the wedding. He married Iris Paine (daughter of Ambassador Earl E. T. Smith) after Lady Sarah and before Cynthia.
She died in Mystic, Connecticut, on November 24, 2019.
Residence.
Russell's home in Newport, "Elm Court" was featured in a Style article of "The New York Times" about the updating of classic homes in that rarified community. She was an active member of the Preservation Society of Newport County.
References.
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