The Star has received word of the death of James Alan Ruthenberg, who grew up in East Hampton and Bohemia, on April 24 in Roanoke, Va., of cancer. He was 54 and had been living in Roanoke for the last 20 years.

“He was kind and generous,” said his mother, Alison Pidgeon of Sweetwater, Tenn., “and well liked by everyone he met.”

Mr. Ruthenberg was born on Dec. 20, 1959, at Southampton Hospital, to Albert Ruthenberg, who lives in Roanoke, and Ms. Pidgeon, who is known by her nickname, Chickie. He was raised in Maidstone Park, his mother said, and attended the Springs School, East Hampton High School, and Connetquot High School in Bohemia. In East Hampton, he was a member of Boy Scout Troop 298.

He served six years in the Navy aboard the aircraft carriers U.S.S. Saratoga, U.S.S. America, and U.S.S. Independence. Stateside, he was a member of American Legion Post 419 in Amagansett, and worked for Home Sweet Home Moving and Storage in Wainscott before relocating to Roanoke. There, he worked primarily in construction.

Mr. Ruthenberg’s marriage to the former Patti Hilliard, who survives, ended in divorce.

In addition to his parents, he leaves a daughter, Martha Anne Ruthenberg, and a granddaughter, both of Wainscott. Two brothers, William of Sweetwater and Robert of Roanoke, survive, as do three sisters, Judy Esposito of Crested Butte, Colo., Saundra Mott-Boyer of Roanoke, and Susan Purcell of Kennewick, Wash. A stepsister, Kelly Colgan of Marion, Va. and stepmother, Sharon Ruthenberg of Roanoke, also survive. “They were very close,” Ms. Pidgeon said of her son and his stepsister and stepmother, with whom he lived for a time. “They were instrumental in helping him through his last days.”

Mr. Ruthenberg was cremated. A memorial service was held last month in Roanoke, and a celebration of his life is planned for the fall at Maidstone Park, where his ashes will be scattered.

Ms. Pidgeon suggested memorial contributions to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.

Richard G. Ehrlich, the owner of the Clam Bar on Napeague since 1980, died at home in Southold on Saturday of pancreatic cancer. He was 73, and had been ill for one month.

Known to his friends as Dick, he was born on June 10, 1940, in White Plains, N.Y., to Jacob Ehrlich and the former Mary Gates. Mr. Ehrlich graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. Fascinated by the world of stamp-collecting, he became a professional philatelist, traveling the world, successfully buying and selling stamp collections.

He retired from the profession at the young age of 38, but continued to travel until he acquired the Clam Bar, now a favorite in-season destination for visitors and beachgoers.

In Southold in 1998, he bought a second restaurant, the Seafood Barge, which quickly became popular with North Fork foodies. In The New York Times in 2011, Joann Starkey wrote that “for around 15 years, until its closing in 2009, the Seafood Barge at the Port of Egypt Marina in Southold was one of the North Fork’s best restaurants.” The Times awarded the restaurant a prestigious three stars.

It was at the Seafood Barge that Mr. Ehrlich met his second wife, Betsy Flinn. The couple had lived the last several years in Southold.

With his first wife, from whom he was divorced, he had two children: a daughter, Jennifer Ehrlich, who lives in San Francisco, and a son, Jacob Ehrlich of New York City.

Mr. Ehrlich loved the ocean and the beaches, and the natural beauty around him. Most of all, said Leigh Goodstein, a manager at the Clam Bar, he loved people, and was instrumental in guiding and mentoring the lives of those he worked with at both his restaurants. “He was tough, but he taught us all about the restaurant business, and about life,” she said. “He was so proud of the Clam Bar as a jumping-off point in life for young people.”

Besides his children from his first marriage, Mr. Ehrlich leaves a stepdaughter, Kelly Flinn of New York City, and a stepson, Brian Flinn of Nashville. A sister, Lynn Nielson of Olympia, Wash., survives as well.

There will be a celebration of his life at the Southold  Presbyterian Church tomorrow. Burial will be private.

Donations in Mr. Ehrlich’s memory can be made to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978, or the Lustgarten Foundation, 1111 Stewart Avenue, Bethpage 11714.

A graveside memorial for John Haessler will be held on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Most Holy Trinity Cemetery on Cedar Street in East Hampton. Mr. Haessler, who was from East Hampton and owned the Seafood Shop in Wainscott for many years, died on Feb. 21.

A memorial gathering for Phyllis and Richard Madan will be held on Saturday. Friends have been invited to stop by and share stories or have a glass of Champagne at 46 Maple Lane in East Hampton from 4 to 8 p.m.

The Madans retired to their vacation house here in 1991. Both became active with the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee, Mr. Madan serving for a time as its co-chairman. His wife died on Nov. 13, 2013; he died on Jan. 23.

Manfred Sobotka, a retired aeronautics and electrical engineer who lived on Round Pond Lane in Sag Harbor for 41 years, died of heart failure on May 4 at Southampton Hospital. He was 84 and had been ill for several years, his family said.

Educated at Farmingdale State College and Hofstra University, Mr. Sobotka served for three years in the Army in undercover intelligence. He later joined Airborne Instruments Laboratory, a company then based in Deer Park that developed technologies for radar systems, electronic warfare, and submarine detection. During his 29 years there, he traveled extensively throughout the United States and overseas, working on government space projects.

After retiring, Mr. Sobotka worked at Southampton Lumber for 17 years and drove school buses in East Hampton and Sag Harbor for 11 years.

“He was a very smart man,” said the former Frances Bill, his wife of 57 years, who survives him. “And he was crazy about planes.”

Mr. Sobotka was born on Nov. 17, 1929, in New York City to Frederick Sobotka and the former Lillian Roberts and grew up in Valley Stream. He was a Mason and a member of the American Legion in Patchogue and the Old Whalers Church in Sag Harbor.

He is survived by four children, Fred Sobotka of O’Fallon, Mo., Patrick Page of Nescopeck, Pa., Debra Maceluch of Yaphank, and Kendell Thommen of Sag Harbor. He is also survived by a sister, Meredith Perone, nine grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. A son, Peter Page, and a sister, Nadine Berardi, died before him.

A funeral service was held on May 10 at Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor, with burial following. The family has suggested memorial donations to the Old Whalers Church, P.O. Box 1241, Sag Harbor 11963.

Jeraldine D. Coyle, a former clerk in the East Hampton Town Assessor’s and Town Clerk’s offices, died of cancer in Naples, Fla., on Saturday. She was 74.

Her family’s roots in East Hampton dated back to the 1800s, according to her daughter, Karin Beaver Julin, with whom she lived in Nebraska for a time after retiring from her job here. She moved to Florida in 2010.

She was born at Southampton Hospital on Aug. 2, 1939, a daughter of Robert W. Lynch Sr., and the former Dorothy Douglas. After graduating from East Hampton High School, she attended Berkeley Secretarial College in New Jersey.

She was married in 1962 to Lloyd Beaver, from whom she was divorced. In 1969, she married John (Billy) Coyle. Her husband died in 2005.

Ms. Julin said her mother enjoyed traveling to visit family and friends. She had a group of friends in East Hampton, said her daughter, who often met for coffee at John Papas Cafe and played cards together.

Besides Ms. Julin, who now lives in Medicine Park, Okla., she leaves a son, Patrick Coyle of Naples, a stepdaughter, Christina Bertrand of East Hampton, and a stepson, John Coyle, also of East Hampton. Fourteen grandchildren survive.

Ms. Coyle was cremated. Her ashes will be buried at Most Holy Trinity Cemetery in East Hampton. A funeral mass will be held at Holy Family Catholic Church in Lawton, Okla., at a date to be determined.

The family has suggested memorial contributions to the Medicine Park Fire Department, P.O. Box 231, Medicine Park, Okla. 73557, or to the donor’s local fire department.

Margaret Ann Paxton, who was called Midge, died of pneumonia in Alexandria, Va., on Sunday. She was 69 and had persevered against an autoimmune disorder for many years.

Ms. Paxton and her husband, the folksinger Tom Paxton, who were married in 1963, were part of the early folk scene in Greenwich Village. Over the years, they traveled extensively as she supported his performing career and they took part in civil rights and antiwar demonstrations.

They had spent a few summers in Amagansett, and in 1967 moved to East Hampton, buying a house on Egypt Close the following year. Here, her family said, she was particularly proud of her work in the early women’s rights movement.

The couple, who had two daughters by then, lived for two years in London, where Mr. Paxton frequently performed. They returned to East Hampton every summer and were part of a large network of friends who shared their interests, holiday celebrations, and cookouts at Little Albert’s Landing in Amagansett.

Ms. Paxton was born on Feb. 23, 1945, in Englewood, N.J., to Thomas Ferris Cummings and the former Margaret Monaghan. The family lived in Stone Harbor, N.J., and in Flushing, Queens, before moving to the Upper West Side of Manhattan when she was 8. She attended Hunter College High School.

When her daughters were in high school, Ms. Paxton, who had briefly attended Southampton College, resumed work toward a degree. She graduated from Adelphi University in 1991 and established a practice in family therapy in New York City.

The Paxtons moved to Alexandria in 1996 to be near their daughter Jennifer, who had just had their first grandchild. Their daughter Kate joined them there shortly thereafter.

Ms. Paxton fell ill in 1999 and was cared for at home during the last five years of her life by Amy Amaya, who became a part of the family. A longtime friend described Ms. Paxton as invariably cheerful, a person who laughed all the time even as her health declined. “Midge made lemonade out of lemons,” one friend said after hearing of her death this week, calling her an example for others on how to overcome adversity.

In addition to her husband and daughters, Kate Paxton of Alexandria and Jennifer Paxton of Bethesda, Md., she leaves three grandsons and two brothers, Thomas Ferris Cummings Jr. of Petersburg, Fla., and William Cummings of Alexandria. A sister, Ellin Cummings, died before her.

The Rev. Mark Horak celebrated a Mass of Christian burial yesterday at Holy Trinity Catholic Church, to which she belonged, in the Georgetown area of Washington, D.C.

Berta Jimenez, who emigrated from Guatemala 25 years ago and saw her children achieve the American dream of success, died at home on Accabonac Road in East Hampton on May 20. She was 98 years old, and had been diagnosed with metastasized bone cancer one month earlier.

Mrs. Jimenez witnessed two world wars and one revolution, welcomed in a century, and, despite having only an elementary education, embraced the computer era, often using Skype to keep in touch with her family. “She was absolutely extraordinary,” said her daughter Marta Nilon of Manhattan.

She was born on Feb. 10, 1916, in El Amraro, a small village in the state of San Marcos, one of 11 children of Jeronimo Jimenez and Segunda Lopez. She received only an elementary education; that was all that was available in her village, she told her children.

In 1936, she married Vicente Tobar. They had 11 children over 25 years, and a small plot of land where they were self-sufficient, growing coffee, cacao, pataste, bananas, cashews, sugar, pineapples, avocados, mangos, corn, beans, potatoes, and aromatic herbs for cooking. She raised hens, pigs, and turkeys; he hunted for meat. They had seven dogs.

When she was 44, her husband died of stomach cancer and she lost their land in a disagreement with her brother. She moved the children to Santa Lucia Cozmalguapa in search of a better life, they said. At the age of 73, she moved to East Hampton to join Ms. Nilon, and helped to bring the other children to this country.

The family said she enjoyed gardening, cooking, animals, music, and her children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and a great-great grandchild. She was also known to enjoy a good party. “She had a beautiful and lucid mind until the end,” Ms. Nilon said.

Nine of the children survive. They are Tavo Tobar, Conie Tobar, Vicente Tobar, Noe Tobar, and Aide Ruano, all of East Hampton; Berta Barrios, who returned to Guatemala; Juan Tobar of Miami, Fernando Tobar of Queens, and Ms. Nilon, who lives in Manhattan. Two children predeceased her, the eldest, Ramiro, and Rene.

She leaves 27 grandchildren, 22 great-grandchildren, and one great-great grandchild. Her sisters Luz Jimenez of Guatemala, Clarisa Runge of Indiana, Celedonia Runge of Guatemala, and Margarita Ramirez of Los Angeles also survive.

A wake was held at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton on May 23, followed the next day by a funeral Mass at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton. Burial was at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in East Hampton.

Memorial contributions have been suggested to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, Okla. 73123-1718.

George Balasses, who ran Balasses House Antiques in Amagansett with his late wife, Teda Balasses, for over half a century, died at home on Fresh Pond Lane in that hamlet on Tuesday at the age of 97. He had suffered from dementia in the last years of his life.

The oldest of four children, Mr. Balasses was born in Lansing, Mich., on July 9, 1916, to Constantine Balasses and the former Mary Jetran. He graduated from General Motors Institute, now known as Kettering University, attending school with the future top executives of the auto industry, according to his nephew Dean Gilbert. He soon decided that the industry was not for him. “He had a major degree and he flipped it for the bohemian lifestyle,” Mr. Gilbert said yesterday. Mr. Balasses moved to Greenwich Village, where he painted.

During World War II, Mr. Balasses was a bomber pilot, flying a Martin B-26 Marauder. He served in the Army Air Corps in the South Pacific, frequently shuttling U.S.O. performers from show to show.

Upon being discharged back to civilian life, he returned to Greenwich Village, then went back to Europe, studying art in Florence and Rome on the G.I. Bill. When he returned to Greenwich Village, he took a job writing for The Village Voice, where he remained throughout the 1950s.

Early in that decade, Mr. Balasses met his future wife, Teda Kramer, on Cape Cod. The two were married on Sept. 4, 1957. “We had a very long getting-acquainted period,” he told The East Hampton Star after his wife’s death in 2008. Their marriage was a true union, he said. “Everything we did, we did together. One fed off the other.”

The couple settled in a house on Fresh Pond Lane. They took on real estate projects in the area, buying houses, fixing them up, and selling them. They did much of the work on these properties themselves. They also bought cottages that they rented out. One of his favorite regular tenants was Roy Lichtenstein. Mr. Balasses was very much at home in the East Hampton artist colony. Mr. Gilbert recalled his uncle telling him about a cookbook he had lent to Andy Warhol, who was doing a picnic at the beach. When Mr. Warhol returned the book, he had re-illustrated it. The book was lost long ago.

In 1959, the couple opened Balasses House Antiques, financed by a small loan from her mother. The couple traveled overseas buying antiques, frequently in London.

Eventually, they made antiques their fulltime business.

“We were very lucky, because there were a lot of very interesting people settling out on the East End at the time,” Mr. Balasses said in 2008. Artists were not the only ones coming into the shop. “There were a lot of show people around, whether we knew them or not.”

Mr. Balasses was a lover of literature and art. He also loved baking bread and  several of his articles on the subject were published in The New York Times.

The couple had no children, and there are no immediate family members surviving.

Service plans have not yet been determined. Mr. Balasses will be cremated, and his ashes will be dispersed in a private ceremony with his seven surviving nieces and nephews.

A funeral for Richard G. Ehrlich, the founder and owner of the Clam Bar restaurant on Napeague who died on Saturday of pancreatic cancer, will be at 1 p.m. Friday at the First Presbyterian Church on Main Road in Southold. Mr. Ehrlich, who was 73, lived in Southold and Jensen Beach, Fla.