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John Anthony Sasso

John Anthony Sasso

Nov. 28, 1940 - Aug. 13, 2017
By
Star Staff

John Anthony Sasso of Montauk, who had a long career in business and was a music arranger and brass instrument instructor, died at home at noon on Sunday of an unexpected heart attack. He was 76.

Mr. Sasso had worked as an executive at the Hazeltine Corporation, then as founder and chief executive officer of Esprit Systems, a commercial computer products company. He was also the president of Fire Burglary Instruments, a division of the Ademco Corporation.

Having moved to Montauk 12 years ago,  Mr. Sasso remained active as a business consultant and as a member of a business coaching advisory board. He enjoyed fishing and was considered a “grill master and great cook,” said his son, John Sasso of Rockville Centre, who survives.

 “John was my neighbor for 10 years and he was the best neighbor anyone could have,” Michael O’Connell of Montauk said. “He was a gentleman and a superb barbecuer. I will miss him greatly.”

Most of all, his son said, he was a musician, arranging music for brass instruments and teaching. He was inducted into both the Buglers Hall of Fame and the World Drum Corps Hall of Fame.

Mr. Sasso was born on Nov. 28, 1940, in Brooklyn, one of three sons of the former Mildred Nuzzo and Theodore Sasso. He grew up in Brooklyn and Queens, receiving a bachelor of science in economics from Hofstra University. In April 1964, he and the former Louise Zolezzi married and moved to Massapequa, living there for 10 years, and then to Northport, where the family lived until they moved year round to Montauk.

In addition to his wife and son, his daughter, Linda Duca of Rockville Centre and Montauk, survives, as do his brothers, Ted Sasso of Massapequa and Fred Sasso of Jupiter, Fla., and six grandchildren.

A funeral Mass will be said by the Rev. Tom Murray at St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church in Montauk tomorrow at 11 a.m. The family has suggested memorial donations to the Montauk Community Food Pantry, care of St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church, 67 South Essex Street, Montauk 11954.

Kevin Raymond Young

Kevin Raymond Young

Aug. 11, 1961 - June 02, 2017
By
Star Staff

A celebration of Kevin Raymond Young’s life was held on Cousin’s Island in Falmouth, Me., on Friday, which would have been his 56th birthday. Called Kip, he grew up in East Hampton and died at home in Falmouth, Me., on June 2. His family believes the cause of death was heart related.

“Along Kevin’s journey through life he made innumerable lifelong friendships, and was well regarded by all of us who were fortunate to be included in his very large circle of family and friends,” an obituary prepared by his family said. “With his mischievous smile, and easy-going manner, he endeared himself to the many who knew him. Kevin was a kind and honest man, and had a well-developed sense of humor that would leave you wondering if the joke was on you.”

He was born at Mercy Hospital in Portland, Me., on Aug. 11, 1961, to Tolford Young and the former Virginia Newton. His family was from Maine, but lived on Osborne Lane in East Hampton Village while his father was stationed at Camp Hero in Montauk. He attended schools in East Hampton until 1976, when the family moved to Maine, where he attended schools in Windham and Westbrook, graduating from Westbrook High School in 1979.

Mr. Young was an entrepreneur. He worked in various fields, including sail-making and window fabrication. He tried window installation and insulation, and even bread route-sales. However, for the last 20 years, he worked as a manufacturing technician at National Semiconductor, which was acquired by Texas Instruments.

Mr. Young had a passion for fishing. At times, it was said, he would fish before work, after work, and even during work. For many years, he was a fixture in the Portland Little League; coaching kids was a talent and integral part of his being, his family said. He also loved to explore abandoned home-sites and the like with a metal detector, collecting old coins and artifacts.

He is survived by his partner of 11 years, Teresa Ehlers of Falmouth, a daughter, Samantha Haskell, also of Maine, and his father, Tolford Young of Sandy, Utah. His brothers, Brad Young of Florida, Tom Baker of Springs, and Charlie Baker of Berryville, Va., also survive, as does a granddaughter. His mother, Virginia Young, died before him.

     A service was held on June 17 at the West Falmouth Baptist Church. His ashes were dispersed at Sandy Cove on Cousin’s Island.

Memorial donations have been suggested to Portland Little League, P.O. Box 10586, Portland, Me. 04104.

Donald Norton, 93

Donald Norton, 93

By
Star Staff

Donald Norton, who was born at home in East Hampton Village in 1923, died on July 29 at East End Hospice in Westhampton Beach at the age of 93. According to his friend and caregiver, Ed Rack, he had had six heart attacks and nine cardiac stents, and defied the doctors who, 13 years ago, gave him just six months to live.

Mr. Norton had two brothers, Willard Norton and Gerald Norton, both World War II veterans, and one sister, all of whom predeceased him. He was a son of Lillian Norton Thomas, who remarried after her first husband died, and Willard Norton, a builder and carpenter. He graduated from East Hampton High School, then in the same Newtown Lane building as the middle school. During World War II, Mr. Norton worked for a time at the War Shipping Administration in New York City. Back home, he spent the rest of his working life at the East Hampton Town Highway Department.

A private graveside ceremony was held at Green River Cemetery in Springs. Mr. Rack said his friend, who never married, was a good and kind man, anonymously giving gift certificates for shoes or other items that people he knew or met needed. He suggested that donations in Donald Norton’s name be sent to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.

Paula M. Dankowski

Paula M. Dankowski

Jan. 6, 1959 - Aug. 03, 2017
By
Star Staff

Paula Dankowski of Plattsburgh, N.Y., formerly of Wainscott, died on Aug. 3 at the Visiting Nurse Association Respite House in Colchester, Vt. She was 58 and had been diagnosed with lung cancer 18 months ago.

Ms. Dankowski was born on Jan. 6, 1959, at Southampton Hospital, one of two children of the former Barbara C. Bahns and Henry E. Dankowski Jr., who died last August. Her mother and brother, Peter Dankowski, both of Wainscott, survive, as does her longtime companion, Steven Peterson of Plattsburgh.

She graduated from Mercy High School in Riverhead in 1977 and for three years took classes at the State Universities at Cobleskill and Morrisville.

According to her family, she “loved walking on the beach, and had a great passion for animals, especially horses.” They said that her greatest wish was to ride again.

A Mass of Christian burial was said on Aug. 8 at Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Bridgehampton, followed by burial in the family plot at the Wainscott Cemetery. The family has suggested donations in Ms. Dankowski’s name to the V.N.A. Respite House, 3113 Roosevelt Highway, Colchester, Vt. 05446.

Patricia A. Arceri, 85

Patricia A. Arceri, 85

Dec. 15, 1931 - July 14, 2017
By
Star Staff

Patricia A. Arceri, who had been ill for only a short time, died at home in Amagansett on July 14, with her husband and family at her bedside. She was 85.

According to Mary Jane Arceri, her daughter, Mrs. Arceri was a volunteer’s volunteer, who had helped myriad local organizations and attended East Hampton Town Board meetings often since moving to the South Fork full time in 1982. Before that, she had helped establish a sheltered workshop in Smithtown, originally called the Suffolk Center for Autistic Children, and was a Girl Scout leader and den mother. She was also a founding member and past president of the Good Samaritan Hospital thrift shop and guild in West Islip.

Patricia A. Arceri was born on Dec. 15, 1931, in New York City to Harry Spears and the former Mary Crimmins, one of four children. She graduated from Sewanhaka High School in Franklin Square. After marrying Louis Arceri, who survives, the couple lived in North Babylon, where they brought up five children. Beginning in 1962, the family spent summers in Amagansett, where they delighted in spending time at the ocean and bay beaches, especially at Fresh Pond and Lazy Point when the children were young, and in celebrating birthdays and holidays. She and her husband were drawn by their love of beaches and the sea to vacation on St. Croix and in Florida.

Here, she volunteered at American Red Cross blood drives, local and state elections for the League of Women Voters, as a guide at the LongHouse Reserve, and for R.S.V.P., which monitors elderly residents who live alone. She was an usher at the Bay Street Theater and the head of the Sunshine Club.

Her grandchildren, Nicholas Arceri, Rose A. Schellinger, and June Arceri, worked with Mrs. Arceri in many volunteer efforts, including selling poppies, the memorial flower of the American Legion, on Memorial Day, at book fairs at the Amagansett Library, and at the Great Bonac Footrace in Springs.

In addition to her husband, her daughter Mary Jane Arceri, and three grandchildren, all of whom live in East Hampton, Mrs. Arceri is survived by four other children, Nancy Arceri, Jim Arceri, and Louis J. Arceri, all of East Hampton, and Kenneth Arceri of Mastic. Also surviving are three great-grandchildren, and a brother, John Spears of Bethel, Conn. A brother, Walter Amrhein of Levittown, and a sister, Florence Meighan of Wantagh, died before her.

Mrs. Arceri was cremated. A memorial service will be held at Scoville Hall of the Amagansett Presbyterian Church on Sept. 16 from 1 to 5 p.m. The family has suggested donations in her memory to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.

For Peter F. Rucano Sr.

For Peter F. Rucano Sr.

By
Star Staff

A graveside service for Peter Frances Rucano Sr. of Springs will be held Thursday at Calverton National Cemetery at 11 a.m. Mr. Rucano died at Southampton Hospital on Aug. 1 at the age of 91.

His family plans to gather at Yardley and Pino Funeral Home on Pantigo Road in East Hampton at 9 a.m. for a procession to the cemetery.

An obituary will appear in a future issue.

 

For Trudy Lester

For Trudy Lester

By
Star Staff

Funeral services for Trudy L. Lester of East Hampton will be held at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 675 Scuttlehole Road in Water Mill.

Ms. Lester, who died on Friday at Southampton Hospital, was 61. An obituary will appear in a future issue.

For Deborah Miller

For Deborah Miller

Aug. 21, 1952 - Dec. 20, 2016
By
Star Staff

A memorial gathering for Deborah A. Miller, an 11th-generation Bonacker who died in San Francisco on Dec. 20, 2016, of pneumonia, will take place on Aug. 21 at 11 a.m. off Landing Lane at Accabonac Harbor in Springs. She had requested that a memorial be held that day, her birthday, and a reception will be held during the solar eclipse at the family house at 517 Accabonac Road, Springs.

She would have been 65.

Ms. Miller was brought up in Springs and graduated from East Hampton High School in 1970. Her mother, Lucia A. Miller, a sister, Lucia E. Miller of Massachusetts, and a brother, Donald D. Miller of Florida, survive.

Geraldine B. Taylor, 78

Geraldine B. Taylor, 78

Nov. 5, 1938 - July 29, 2017
By
Star Staff

Geraldine B. Taylor of East Hampton died unexpectedly on July 29 in Ireland, where she had been vacationing, accompanied by two of her children and a son-in-law. She had gone to a hospital to be treated for an infection, and died there.

Born in the Bronx on Nov. 5, 1938, Mrs. Taylor was one of three children of Joseph and Ellen Bolger, who came to this country from Ireland. She graduated from St. Raymond School in the Bronx and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in education from St. John’s University.

In 1959 she married Robert C. Taylor. They lived in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., for 14 years, and later in Florida, before moving to East Hampton, her husband’s hometown, about 20 years ago. Their five children already knew the town well, having spent their summers here over the years. Mr. Taylor died in 2001.

Mrs. Taylor, who worked seasonally on the South Fork for the Ford car family, was “the consummate Mom and Grandma, always taking care of others first,” her children said. She was “often in the kitchen creating wonderful meals and providing a lifetime of fond memories for hundreds of family and friends hosted over the years.”

She was a voracious reader and proud of her Irish heritage, they said.

She is survived by three sons, Robert Taylor of Glassboro, N.J., Roger Taylor of Davidsonville, Md., and Pierce Taylor of Pensacola, Fla., and two daughters, Maura Taylor Porricolo and Susan Taylor, both of East Hampton. She also leaves a brother, Joseph Bolger of Ireland, a sister, Maura Costantino of Connecticut, 10 grandchildren, and many cousins, nieces, and nephews.

The family received visitors last Thursday at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. A funeral Mass was said on Friday at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church.

Phyllis Adams Memorial

Phyllis Adams Memorial

A memorial service will be held at the Amagansett Presbyterian Church Friday at 10 a.m. for Phyllis M. Adams, who was born in that hamlet on Aug. 28, 1922. Mrs. Adams died on June 8 in Augusta, Ga., where she had lived in recent years. She was 94.