Obituaries

Isabel Spear Hefner, known as Min, passed away peacefully at her home in Amagansett on June 21 after a long encounter with breast cancer, surrounded by her family. She worked in The Star's advertising department for 37 years, retiring from her position as advertising manager in 2020.

Barbara Anhalt, who in her more than 50 years here worked at several mainstays of downtown East Hampton, from Guild Hall to Bank of America to the office at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, died of pulmonary artery disease on June 7. She was 80.

Barbara Metzger, the author of over three dozen books and a dozen novellas, was a woman of many talents, working at various points in her life as an editor, proofreader, writer of greeting card verses, and an artist. Ms. Metzger, who was known as Bob-E, died on June 21 after a long illness. She was 79.

A leading Abstract Expressionist painter whose output spanned seven decades, Connie Fox’s work is represented in the Guild Hall Museum, the Parrish Art Museum, and at major museums across the country, including the Brooklyn Museum and the Albright-Knox Gallery, now known as the Buffalo AKG Art Museum. She died peacefully at home in East Hampton on June 19

Elaine Lucille Evans, a career teacher who with her husband bought a house in Springs almost 60 years ago, died in her sleep at home in Brooklyn on June 17. She was 84.

Hermann Wayd, an accomplished pastry chef who worked at Gurney’s Inn in Montauk in the 1960s before opening his own restaurant and bakery in that hamlet and later in East Hampton, died on June 17 in Burtonsville, Md. He was 83 and had been in declining health.

Isabel McSweeney of Springs, a teacher at the Springs School for many years, died of complications of metastatic lung cancer on June 18 at home in Delray Beach, Fla. She was 78.

John Roland Lycke, 85, formerly of Montauk, died on Sunday evening at Citrus Memorial Hospital in Ocala, Fla., due to respiratory failure. A full obituary will appear in a future issue.

Sheldon Harnick, whose wildly successful Broadway musical about an insular Jewish village trying to survive in early 20th-century Czarist Russia has delighted audiences in France, England, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Israel, Germany, Rhodesia, and dozens of other countries where tradition, like the song, runs deep, died on Friday at his Upper West Side apartment.

Joseph A. McDonald, a Montauk native and department manager at Stop and Shop in East Hampton for many years, died on Friday at a medical facility in Manhattan. He was 63 and had cancer.

Frederick S. Cheesman of East Hampton, who worked on historical texts and research material for university libraries in his career in publishing, died on Feb. 1 at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan of complications of acute myeloid leukemia. He was 77.

Albert Sanders, who ran an innovative die-casting company and had a house in East Hampton for 40 years, died at home in Manhattan on June 7 at the age of 103.

George David Yates, a partner in the Dayton Ritz + Osborne Insurance Agency, was an absolute giant in every sense of the word, a big man in stature and an even bigger man about the truly important things in life. Mr. Yates, who was 74, died on June 2.

Helen Darlene Barnard, who grew up in Bridgehampton and was affectionately known as Ty, died on April 28 in Portsmouth, Va. The cause was complications of breast cancer. She was 70.

Kathleen Louise Neuhaus, a 44-year resident of East Hampton, died of congestive heart failure on June 3 at Sebastian River Medical Center in Florida. She was 76 and had been ill for several years.

Patricia Steffan, who worked in publishing and education, died on May 25 at Stony Brook University Hospital. The cause was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Known as Patsy, she was 84 and had lived in Bridgehampton and New York City.

Funeral services for Patricia (Patsy) Steffen of Bridgehampton, who died on May 25, will take place on Saturday at 11 a.m. at St. Ann’s Episcopal Church in that hamlet.

Allen Lester Gribetz, an influential figure at the Bloomingdale’s department store for many years, died at home in Manhattan on May 18 after being in home hospice care for five months. He was 93 and had owned houses in Sagaponack, Amagansett, and on Shelter Island.

Tom Kochie of Sag Harbor, a prolific photographer on the South Fork, died on May 30 at North Shore University Hospital. He was 74.

Carlo Grossman, the developer of Amagansett Square, died at home in East Hampton on May 5. Mr. Grossman, who was 90, had Parkinson’s, kidney, and cardiovascular disease.

A memorial for Robert Brierley Loughead Jr., an important figure with the Village Preservation Society and the East Hampton Healthcare Foundation, will be held on June 16 at 3 p.m. at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton. Mr. Loughead died on Aug. 23, 2022.

Betty DeFriest of East Hampton, who was a longtime administrator in the town clerk’s office here, died on May 4 while visiting her daughter in North Carolina. She was 98.

Gary Lidell Bowen, a television director and longtime member of the Directors Guild of America, died on May 10 in Malibu, Calif., where he lived with his wife, Ruth Preven, and their dog, Kimba.

John William McGrath of East Hampton and Manhattan, an attorney who was active in politics, died on May 3 in New York. He was 90.

Pamela Rae Cullum, formerly of East Hampton and a descendant of the King family, which goes back many generations here, died on May 7 at home in Nineveh, N.Y.

Sarah Kramer Delson, who had many friends on the South Fork, where she often visited the homes of her mother and brother, died on May 4 at home in San Francisco at the age of 61.

Caroline Joyce Whitby, an L.G.B.T.Q.+ activist who was a co-founder of the East End Gay Organization, died on April 22 at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. She was 88. A service will be held on Saturday at 2 p.m. at St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Amagansett.

Jill A. Perkins, a certified public accountant formerly of East Hampton, died on Nov. 1 in Greenville, S.C., where she had retired in 2020. She was 65.

John William McCluskey, a photographer and magazine publisher, Amagansett resident, and part-time resident of Greece, died on March 21 in Athens. He was 83.

Lucy Olszewski died at home in East Hampton on May 8, the day after her 95th birthday.