Death Announced of Lilliane Phoebe Spratt of Old Lyme, CT: Palm Beach, FL: Watch Hill, RI; An Exceptional Artist, Designer, Athlete, Poet, Volunteer

OLD LYME —Lilliane Phoebe Spratt (b. January 23, 1989), of Palm Beach, FL, Watch Hill, RI, and Old Lyme, CT, passed from this terrestrial realm to the heavens on January 9, 2025, surrounded by her loving family in her lakeside Old Lyme home. A private funeral was held at the Grassy Hill Congregational Church of Lyme, CT, and a ceremony celebrating her life is being planned.

Lilly grew up surrounded by water in Old Lyme and Watch Hill, the youngest of four siblings. She graduated with honors from Lyme-Old Lyme High School, before attending Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA, and Connecticut College, where she graduated with a double-major in English and Art. Both an exceptional installation artist and a poet, having published her first poem in middle school, creativity beamed through all her endeavors and lent to her defining hyperintelligence. From an early age she found inspiration observing her mother’s design and textile business. Also a standout athlete, Lilly was a varsity track and cross-country runner at all of the schools she attended, and enjoyed running marathons. She was the coxswain for the Connecticut College crew team and liked to kayak. As a young adult, she trained in gymnastics, which positioned her to later pursue the art of the flying trapeze. Her revelry in fire eating, a skill she mastered while at a circus academy, was, however, most emblematic of her magical approach to the world.

Lilly’s enchantment and exceptional beauty did not go unnoticed, as Vogue sought her for an acrobatic photo shoot. On account of her talent for writing and remarkable work ethic, she gained design, photography, marketing, and publishing experience in the fashion world with Bergdorf Goodman, Alice + Olivia, and Shape magazine in New York City. She also worked for the executives of Rolling Stone magazine and pursued her master’s degree at Parsons School of Design. These experiences ultimately led her to create her own company, Love Lilly, a resort clothing company based in Palm Beach and Old Lyme. The company designed, marketed, and sold wholesale dresses throughout the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean, yet most importantly celebrated the power of color and light in textiles to foster positivity. Like her brand, Lilly’s fellowship program for aspiring highschool fashionistas to gain first-hand experience in the industry brought inspiration and love to all who benefited from her mentorship.

Wherever Lilly traveled, she left her mark with her kindness, grace, compassion, generosity, and unforgettably luminous dark brown eyes. She had the fondest of memories volunteering at an orphanage in Chennai, India, doing an art residency in Lucca, Italy, building boats with her beloved sister Meredith in Bequia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, participating in Parsons’ international business and fashion program in Paris, tracking wolves in Yellowstone National Park with her friends, and exploring the tropics with her dearest mother. She loved special nights out in Los Angeles and New York City discovering new places with her sisters or friends, but also appreciated quietude. The poetry of Mary Oliver brought her solace, and Lilly wrote remarkable poems throughout her life. Her joy in baking irresistibly delicious cakes and cookies for others symbolized the incredible love she bestowed upon her family and friends, always through the most thoughtful gifts.

Lilly had an uncanny ability to unveil the truth in most things, which made her the best of friends—as the privilege of knowing Lilly well was synonymous with being completely understood—and riotously funny, given her quick-witted tongue. This also made Lilly a formidable foe as a Scrabble player and an excellent strategist in real estate and property makeovers. Her highly remarked upon Connecticut College art installation, “An Apple a Day,” points to her depth of character and complexity. In it she critiqued the saccharine beauty of the quotidian by way of its routine entrapments. In this regard, she hinted at her struggle to manage the chronic disease that she courageously fought for over a decade. Nevertheless, she exuded optimism, selflessness, kindness, compassion, and cordiality in all of her interactions. She also exercised an incredible capacity for forgiveness and understanding. During extended hospital stays you would find her giving counsel and an empathetic ear to other patients, visitors, and the staff. No matter how she was, she would ask you how you were and genuinely care to know your answer.

Lilly’s friends best describe her infectious personality as larger than life. Her impeccable fashion sense and signature oversized sunglasses typically paired with the perfect shade of pink or black accoutrements was iconic. To witness her joy—elegantly soaking in the warmth of the Palm Beach breeze, driving her convertible with her long, chestnut hair gracefully blowing in the wind with the best music blasting, or owning the road in her Hummer—was to see life cinematically transform to her perfected design. For Lilly, an essential component of her inimitable stamp on life was the presence of her most devoted dogs, Bambi and Armani, in everything that she did. Lilly loved her dogs tremendously and this joy for her pets, especially her notable connection to Bambi, gave her strength and comfort in the hardest of challenges.

In this untimely winter passing, let Lilly’s poetry give us the hope and love she would have wanted us to conjure now, “For winter’s touch is never long / and seasons do change,” as she writes in Roots. Lilly is survived by her mother Patricia and her father John, her siblings Emily, John, and Meredith, and her nieces Violet and Lyra. In lieu of flowers, please honor Lilly’s memory through acts of kindness and compassion.

Please visit www.fultontherouxoldlyme.comto leave a tribute for her family.