Erin Isbell

Erin F. (McCulley) Isbell, 74, recently of Briarcliff Manor, NY, passed from this world into eternal life on July 6, 2021 after a 2-year battle with cancer. Erin was a respected nurse and beloved mother, grandmother, sister, aunt and friend. She loved the Lord with her heart and soul and sought to be an obedient servant of Christ. 

Erin was born in Rockville Centre, NY on March 25, 1947 to James Shannon McCulley, Jr. and Elsie (Stringer) McCulley. She graduated from Southampton High School in 1965. She then attended Rockland College School of Nursing, graduating in 1967. Erin drew immense satisfaction from her career in nursing, practicing across the breadth of the profession for over 50 years. She began and ended her long career caring for sick children, the patients for whom she always had the strongest connection. Her nursing career took her many places throughout the U.S. including Boston, NYC, and the Dallas-Ft. Worth area, where she raised her 4 sons. Eventually she would follow family to Houston, Nashville, Baltimore and Briarcliff Manor in an effort to be near her children and grandchildren. 

Erin supported and lavished love upon her family without limit for the entirety of her life. She consistently put others’ needs before her own. She took pleasure in reading, traveling and, most of all, spending quality time with her family, especially her beloved grandchildren. She had a lifetime love of sports and enjoyed being outdoors, whether to garden or to go on long hikes in the woods. Later in life she developed a passion for golf, playing as much as time and her bank account would permit.   

Erin is survived by her son and daughter-in-law Drs. James (Jay) and Rebecca Isbell and granddaughters Lauren, Emily, and Madeline of Briarcliff Manor, NY; her son and daughter-in-law Scott and Emily Isbell and grandsons Brandon and Elijah, of Baltimore, MD; her son Brett Isbell of Brooklyn, NY; her sister and brother-in-law, Maureen and Connie Rosko of Water Mill, NY; sister-in-law Noreen McCulley of Southampton, NY; sister Karen Willis of Hurst, TX; brother and sister-in-law Dennis and Joan McCulley of Wilmington, NC; brother and sister-in-law Timothy and Susan McCulley of Water Mill, NY; her daughter-in-law Uliana Biryukova of Austin, TX; and many nieces and nephews. Erin is also survived by treasured friends and colleagues, and countless children for whom she cared and advocated over the years. 

Erin was preceded in death by her parents, her son Brian Isbell, great-nephew Joshua Islam, brother-in-law Walter Willis and brother James (Duke) McCulley. 

A memorial service celebrating the life of Erin Isbell will be held on Friday, July 16 at 11 a.m. at St. Andrew’s Dune Church, 12 Gin Ln, Southampton, NY 11968. 

In lieu of flowers, Erin requested that donations be made to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center to support the respective cancer research efforts of Dr. Josh Smith and her son, Dr. James Isbell. Donations in Erin’s memory may be made at:

 http://mskcc.convio.net/goto/Isbell