Obituaries

Janet Jones Schwitter, who for 50 years had a house in Amagansett and once ran an antiques store in the hamlet, died in New York City on Jan. 30. She was 92.

Michael Z. Jody of East Hampton, a psychoanalyst and couples counselor, died on Feb. 19 in the care of East End Hospice of Westhampton Beach. He was 68 and had been ill with cancer for six weeks.

Stephanie J. O’Connell, who had taught at the Most Holy Trinity School in East Hampton, died on Feb. 21 in Roslyn. She was 81. A funeral Mass will be said on Friday at 11:30 a.m. at Most Holy Trinity.

Bev Baker, a Navy veteran and a 1975 graduate of East Hampton High School, died on Jan. 27 at Blessing Hospital in Quincy, Ill. Most recently of Carthage, Ill., she was 67.

A service for Gerald Schneider of Springs will be held on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. Mr. Schneider, who was 70, died of a heart attack on Feb. 8 in New York City.

Judith D. King, a Montauker who worked at Gosman’s Restaurant for over 30 years, died on Feb. 4 at the age of 80.

C. Leonard Gordon, a corporate lawyer turned medical entrepreneur who with his wife spent weekends and summers in East Hampton for almost 60 years, died in Miami on Feb. 9. He was 95.

David Allyn Webb, a general contractor who worked on projects ranging from Norman Jaffe’s Gates of the Grove to the Ross School, died on Feb. 6 at Peconic Landing. He was 87.

Audrey Raebeck, an educator with a specialty in early childhood reading and a founder of the Group the East End, died on Jan. 31. She was 93.

Jessica Fitzpatrick, an educational consultant who focused on family literacy, died at home in Calverton on Feb. 6. Formerly of East Hampton, she was 77.

Ray Hartjen, the driving force behind the creation of the Hartjen-Richardson Community Boat Shop in Amagansett, died at home in Springs on Jan. 31. He was 93.

Vernice Mae Fordham North of Noyac, whose family goes back 11 generations on the South Fork, died on Feb. 5 at the age of 98.

Carolyn Celeste Cerchiai “devoted her life to her family,” they wrote. “Carolyn’s warmth touched everyone who knew her.” Mrs. Cerchiai died at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital on Jan. 22. She was 80 and had a respiratory illness.

Paid Notice: Howard E. Faulkner of Riverhead, NY, formerly of Northport, and East Hampton, peacefully passed away on February 1, 2025. He leaves behind a legacy of faith, love and dedication which touched many people throughout his remarkable life.

Eleanor Osborne Ratsep, the president of the East Hampton Library Board in the 1990s, died on Jan. 17 at the age of 93. A funeral service will be held at the East Hampton Presbyterian Church on Friday at 11 a.m.

Visiting hours for Carolyn Cerchiai of East Hampton will be held Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. Ms. Cerchiai, who was 80, died on Jan. 22.

Visiting hours for James Emmett Mabry of East Hampton will take place on Monday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Calvary Baptist Church in East Hampton, with a “home-going” service to follow at 1. Mr. Mabry died on Jan. 22 at the age of 75.

Harry E. Heller of Springs, who had careers in aviation engineering, advertising, and public opinion research, died on Dec. 29 in Philadelphia. He was 90.

Leroy Kayser of East Hampton, a former systems analyst for Federated Department Stores, died on Jan. 19 at the age of 99.

Patricia Smith, a speech pathologist and chairwoman of the committee on special education at the Bridgehampton School, died on Sunday at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. She was 74.

Peter L. Rothholz, the founder of Peter Rothholz Associates, a public relations agency, died on Dec. 20. A former summertime resident of Springs, he was 95.

Ricky Schellinger, a maintenance man at the East Hampton mobile home park on Oakview Highway for two decades, died of cancer on Sunday. He was 70.

Paid Notice: Winifred Rosen, beloved children’s author and artist, passed away on December 5, 2024, at the age of 81. Raised and educated in New York City, Winnie graduated with honors from NYU. She taught high school English and Literature for several years before discovering her true calling as a writer of children’s and young adult books. 

Norman Abell of Amagansett, a former senior partner at Huber, Lawrence & Abell, a New York City law firm, died of thyroid cancer on Sunday. He was 95.

Stephen Grossman, a lawyer whose firm had an office in Sag Harbor for decades, died on Jan. 14 at NYU Langone hospital in Manhattan of complications of lung cancer. He was 83.

Paid Notice: Joe, who recently moved to Tampa, Florida, passed away at a hospice facility in Palm Harbor on January 6. Joe was 74 years old. Joe, who was known to his family and friends as Bubba, grew up in Brentwood, Long Island before moving to Amagansett around 1970, following a number of friends who were into the surfing culture at the time.

Evelyn Irene Hansen, who worked as a bookkeeper here for many years, died at home in Springs on Jan. 6. She was 77.

Louise Demmers Carlson, who moved to East Hampton in 1958, died on Oct. 17 in Eugene, Ore. She was 98.

Rafael Rojas, a native of Colombia who worked at an estate off Route 114 in East Hampton for over 30 years, died at the age of 90 on Jan. 10 in Winchester, Mass.

Alfred E. Devendorf, an attorney known for his strong commitment to charitable causes, died at home in East Hampton on Dec. 29. He was 89.