Frances Preston, who lived in Oak Bluffs from 1980 to 2004, died in New York city on May 10. She was 88.

Fran Preston lived on Cottage Lane (later called Windy Hill Road) with her husband, William S. Preston, who died in 1993. In 2004 she moved to New York to be closer to her family.

Although she missed the Vineyard, and driving her little station wagon, she embraced the different types of experiences available in New York, and remained active until her death, despite the challenges of a very serious illness during the last two years.

Fran Preston was born Frances Viola Durward in Bridgeport, Conn., on Nov. 20, 1919. She was also the wife of the late William J. Bray, who died in 1964. She is survived by a son, a daughter, two grandchildren, and her devoted 16-year-old cat, Elizabeth, a Vineyard native.