Mildred Cushman Mayhew, former principal of Menemsha School and a longtime Vineyard resident, died peacefully in her sleep at the Henrietta Brewer House in Vineyard Haven, surrounded by her family, following a brief illness. She was 97.

She was born in Bridgewater on August 20, 1914, daughter of Edgar Everett and Ruth Murray Cushman. Her introduction to Martha’s Vineyard came after the death of her mother when Mildred was eight. Her father married Carrie Louise Coffin of Edgartown, and Mildred then visited the Island for the first time.

Mildred attended the local schools of Bridgewater, graduating from the Bridgewater High School in 1931. She then went on to Bridgewater Teacher’s College graduating in 1935. Following that she moved to the Vineyard to start her new position as teacher and future principal of the Menemsha School. It was in Chilmark that she met and married her husband, E. Elloitt Mayhew, in January of 1939. The couple had two children, Carol and Edward Jr.

After 27 years at the Menemsha School, Mildred retired in 1975. Many students passed through her classes including her son and one of her granddaughters. In retirement she became a town assessor and for some years was a trustee of the Chilmark Library. Many days Mildred could be seen out for a walk to the post office on the Menemsha Crossroad or swimming laps between the buoys in Menemsha. She was an avid reader as well as a talented seamstress, needleworker, knitter and master of many other crafts.

Elliott predeceased Mildred in 1995, and she lived alone, next door to her son and daughter-in-law, until she decided to move to the Henrietta Brewer House in March of 2011. She made many friends among the staff and will be missed by all of them.

Mildred leaves her daughter, Carol, and son in law Jim Mays of Londonderry, N.H., and son Edward and daughter in law Judy of Chilmark. She also leaves four granddaughters; Cindy Lee Mays Dauphinais, Terri Mays Shawver, Rebecca Jean Mayhew Hewitt and Sarah Mayhew Shipway; seven great grandchildren and one great great grandson. Mildred is also survived by one sister, Margery Anderson, of Old Saybrook, Conn. She was predeceased by her sisters, Ruth Cushman Heaton, Dorothy McCraken of Engelwood, Fla., her twin, Marion C. McMahon of Edgartown and a brother Francis N. Cushman of Bellevue, Wash.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Hospice of Martha’s Vineyard or the Chilmark Community Church.