Obituary : Summer Wibel
Published: September 4, 2008
Summer Wibel, 25, died unexpectedly on Friday evening, August 29, in Hudson, N.Y. A lifelong Island resident, she attended Tisbury schools and the Martha's Vineyard Regional High School.
A large group of family and friends gathered on Philbin Beach in Aquinnah on Tuesday afternoon to honor Summer and celebrate her life. Underneath a bright sun, they joined in a circle to share warm recollections. Patricia Newell Bennett read a poem by Mary Oliver. Isaac Taylor stood in the light wind and offered a song he had written for Summer that began, "She made herself into a cloud."
Following the brief ceremony, family members made their way to the ocean's edge and scattered Summer's ashes in the waves.
Many brought bouquets that were heaped on a table, surrounding a photo of Summer with her family, creating a colorful and spontaneous altar. A few dunked themselves in the gentle surf in honor of their friend.
The mourners, many of them in their 20s and some with infants and young children, remained until sunset, comforting one another, reminiscing, and taking solace from being at the beach that many said was Summer's favorite.
She is survived by her mother, Leslie Wibel of Vineyard Haven, her father, Richard Wibel of Melbourne, Fla.; three sisters, Dawn Iacono of Hudson, N.Y., Conamore Alexander of Washington, D.C., and Noava Wibel of Vineyard Haven; a brother, Strider Wibel of Vineyard Haven; and a nephew, Sunny Iacono of Hudson, N.Y.
A full obituary will appear in a future edition of The Times.
