Thomas Murphy, an educator who lived on Devon Road, Amagansett, and in Lloyd Harbor, died on July 10 at Huntington Hospital. He was 75 years old.

    Mr. Murphy spent more than 30 years as a teacher and administrator in public schools. After initially teaching in New York City, he taught from 1961 to 1968 at the Bishop Gibbons High School in Schenectady, N.Y.

    Coming to Suffolk County, Mr. Murphy helped in the founding of the John H. Glenn High School in Elwood and then moved to the Commack School District, where he served as mathematics chairman, administrative assistant, and assistant principal. He was also on the alumni board of his alma mater, Iona College, from which he graduated summa cum laude in 1957. He retired in 1995.

    Mr. Murphy was born in New York City on Sept. 12, 1935, the son of Thomas and Kitty Carey Murphy. He graduated from All Hallows High School before going to college. Mr. Murphy went on to do graduate work in mathematics on a fellowship from Fordham University, and he received a master’s degree there in 1963.

    In Huntington, he was a longtime parishioner of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and a member of the Huntington Country Club.

    Mr. Murphy is survived by his wife of 46 years, Helen, by two children, Christine Danforth of Greenwich, Conn., and Thomas Mayo Murphy of Locust Valley, and a sister, Regina Murphy of South Carolina.  Seven grandchildren also survive.

    His family has suggested donations in his name to All Hallows School, 111 East 164 Street, Bronx 10482.

    Ward Mohrfeld, a longtime resident of Floyd Street in East Hampton, died on Aug. 12 at the Westhampton Care Center following cardiac surgery on July 27 at Stony Brook University Medical Center. He was 76 years old.

    Mr. Mohrfeld was born on Nov. 30, 1934, in Collingswood, N.J., to Howard Morris Mohrfeld and the former Anne Hamilton. After growing up in Larchmont, N.Y., he graduated from Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., and from Princeton University in 1956 before spending six months in an Army Reserve program at Fort Dix, N.J.

    He worked for many years as an acquisitions editor for several book publishers, including Penguin Books, Henry Holt, and New American Library. After moving full time to East Hampton in the mid-’90s, Mr. Mohrfeld became a real estate broker at Allan M. Schneider.

    With his lifelong companion, Marilyn Abel, he explored East Hampton’s “byways and lore,” according to Ms. Abel, who added that Mr. Mohrfeld was captivated by East Hampton’s history, beginning with their house, which  they restored “as little as possible.”

    Mr. Mohrfeld frequently attended the Opera in HD broadcasts at Guild Hall and was often to be found in the East Hampton Library, where he fed his love of literature.

    “He was also extremely fond of bagels from Hampton Bagels,” Ms. Abel said, adding that he was “a great cook. His skill at seasoning was unsurpassed.”

    In addition to Ms. Abel of East Hampton, Mr. Mohrfeld is survived by a brother, Peter Mohrfeld of Pittsboro, N.C., and by a half sister, Gwyneth H. Bear of San Pedro, Calif.

    He was cremated. A gathering in his honor will be held at some point in September.

    Stanley R. Schellinger of Sandra Road in Springs died of lymphoma on Aug. 9 at Southampton Hospital at the age of 79.

    A fixture at the town dock, where he always found friends, Mr. Schellinger, who was known as Pep, could tell a good story or two, often for hours, according to his family, who described him as fun-loving and kindhearted, someone who always had a smile on his face.

    He enjoyed clamming and sharing his catch with friends. He was a skilled woodworker, making weathervanes, birdhouses, and custom house signs, and a pretty good Sunday painter whose favorite subjects were landscapes, windmills, and fish. Both handy and generous, he collected broken-down bicycles, fixed them, and donated them to neighborhood children.

    Born in Amagansett on Oct. 13, 1931, to Ellsworth and Evelyn Miller Schellinger, Mr. Schellinger graduated from the Amagansett School and East Hampton High School. He was in the Army from 1952 to 1954 during the Korean War and spent one year in Korea. He worked for many years after his discharge for R. DiGate and Sons and Bistrian Gravel in East Hampton.

    Mr. Schellinger was married on Sept. 5, 1954, to the former Joan A. Lewandowski, who survives, as do four children, Charles R. Schellinger of Springs, Wendy L. Schwab of Orlando, Fla., Evelyn M. Shields of Amagansett, and Yvonne R. Schellinger-Wood of Springs. He also leaves a brother, Gary Schellinger of Tennessee; seven grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. His parents and two brothers, Ronald L. Schellinger and Larry S. Schellinger, predeceased him.

    A military graveside service was held at Green River Cemetery in Springs on Aug. 11. Memorial donations have been suggested to the Springs Ambulance Company, 179 Fort Pond Boulevard, East Hampton 11937, or to the Amagansett Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary, P.O. Box 911, Amagansett 11930.

    Ron Sauers, a skilled designer and building contractor known for his attention to detail, died on Aug. 14 after a long battle with cancer. He was 73.

    “He was categorically one of the most intelligent carpenters I ever worked with. He was brilliant. His ability was on another level. Not only could he design it, he could build it so that every step led to the next. Very pragmatic, no wasted movement,” said Thom Fleming of Montauk, one of a generation of builders inspired by Mr. Sauers. 

    He lived in Montauk for a number of years, and examples of his work can be found throughout the East End. After leaving here, he moved to Manhattan, where he met his wife, the former Ronnie Beth Gould.

    While in the city, he supervised construction of Greenacre Park on East 51st Street, a hidden gem featuring a waterfall, for the Rockefeller family, and managed the park for 40 years thereafter. He worked for a time at Rockefeller University supervising various construction projects.

    During this time, Mr. Sauers continued with his contracting business, building and renovating sound and video studios for the entertainment industry. He and his wife bought a number of derelict buildings on Main Street in Beacon, N.Y., and restored them. The Sauerses are well known in the Hudson Valley for their part in the revitalization of the City of Beacon.

    Mr. Sauers served in the Coast Guard and was an accomplished sailor. He spent many hours lovingly restoring his latest boat, a 48-foot classic ketch, Free Spirit, which was berthed on the Hudson River.

    For 20 years, Mr. Sauers rented Taylor Island, in the middle of Coecles Harbor off Shelter Island, as a family retreat.

    Ron Sauers was born in Brooklyn on Jan. 1, 1938, a son of James Sauers and the former Dorothy Stokes. He grew up in Babylon and joined the Coast Guard at 18. Stationed at Cape May, N.J., he worked up and down the East Coast on government construction projects.

    Mr. Sauers is survived by his wife of 35 years, a brother, Tim Sauers of Montauk, and two daughters, Pamela Sauers Drumm and Tracy Sauers Erb, both of Montauk. He leaves three granddaughters, Melissa Drumm, Logan Erb, and Camille Erb, all of Montauk.

    Mr. Sauers’s ashes will be spread at sea. A memorial service will be held at a time and place to be announced.  Memorial contributions have been suggested to the Wolf Conservation Center, 7 Buck Run, South Salem, N.Y. 10590-1123.

    Robert Godfrey Plitt, for more than three decades the owner of Plitt Ford Mercury, the last auto dealership in the Town of East Hampton, died of natural causes at home on Huntting Lane in East Hampton Village on Aug. 19. He was 87 and had lived here for 57 years.

    “It’s actually a pretty great story,” Michel Plitt Wirth, Mr. Plitt’s daughter, said. “Both my father and mother had spent their childhoods summering on Shelter Island. One day they were on their way to the beach in East Hampton and, on a whim, my father walked into Willard Motors and asked the owner if it was for sale. He bought it that day on a handshake.” The year was 1954.

    Willard Motors was on Pantigo Road where CVS is today. The business operated there as Plitt Ford Mercury for 18 years before moving to Wainscott in 1993. Mr. Plitt remained active in the business until its closing in April 2009. The dealership was known for excellent service and, over the years, won loyal customers.

    He was born to Godfrey Lewis Plitt and the former Martha Wegner in Flushing, Queens, on Jan. 10, 1924. He attended the Foxwood Academy in Great Neck and received a bachelor’s degree in business from Trinity College.

    Mr. Plitt served in the Army Air Corps for four years during World War II. After the war, he became a sales representative for General Motors, leaving when he bought Willard Motors.

    Throughout the 1950s and ’60s, Mr. Plitt was a member of the Guild Hall Players, a popular amateur theatrical group. He was a Mason and a member of the Trinity College Half Century Club, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. His children said he enjoyed tennis and was devoted to his family.    

    Mr. Plitt is survived by his wife, the former Shirley Schulum. They would have celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary on Sept. 17. In addition to Ms. Plitt Wirth, who lives in East Hampton, he is survived by a son, Jeffrey Plitt of Springs, and three grandchildren

    Mr. Plitt was cremated and his family held a private service. They have suggested donations in his memory to the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association, 1 Cedar Street, or the East Hampton Village Police Benevolent Association, 30 Broadway Avenue, both in East Hampton 11937.

John E. Harrington

    John E. Harrington, 80, former chief financial officer of AT&T and resident of Amagansett and Stamford, Conn., died at his Connecticut house on Aug. 8 after a long illness.

    A native New Yorker and the eldest of three sons, Mr. Harrington began his career at New York Telephone in New York City in 1955, two years before receiving a master’s degree in business administration from New York University. He rose through the ranks to become a vice president and controller, retiring from AT&T in 1987.

    The son of Irish immigrants, Michael Harrington and the former Lily Shea, Mr. Harrington attended Holy Spirit School and All Hallows High School, both of which are in the Bronx. He was an altar boy while in grammar school. He went on to graduate first in his class from the State University Maritime College, also in the Bronx, where he fostered a lifelong devotion to sailing. He was a member of the Fort Schuyler Maritime Association and held a Coast Guard captain’s license.

    In addition to his success in academic endeavors, Mr. Harrington’s proficiency at sea aided him throughout his military service, which included active duty as a lieutenant, junior grade, in the Navy from 1953 to 1955 as well as several years in the Navy Reserve, ultimately becoming a full lieutenant.

    Mr. Harrington is survived by his wife of 56 years, the former Joan Turbidy, by four children, John Harrington, David Harrington, and Joanne Harrington, all of Stamford, and Michael Harrington of Prairie Village, Kan., as well as three grandchildren. His youngest child, Kevin Harrington, died in 1983. Mr. Harrington  was also predeceased by his brothers, Donald Harrington, in 1998, and Walter Harrington, in 2010.

    The family has suggested memorial donations to Summer Sea Term Appeal at the Fort Schuyler Maritime Alumni Association in the Bronx.

    A Mass will be said tomorrow at 10:30 a.m. at Holy Spirit Church, Scofieldtown Road in Stamford. Mr. Harrington will be buried at Queen of Peace Cemetery on Rockrimmon Road, also in Stamford. To leave online condolences, one can visit leopgallagherstamford.com.

Raymond Jaffie

    Raymond Jaffie, who bought and operated the Huntting Inn in East Hampton in the 1970s, died of pancreatic cancer on Aug. 2 in Hollywood, Fla. He was 83.

    Mr. Jaffie was a member of the Treasurers and Ticket Sellers Union and serviced the New York Coliseum, Madison Square Garden, the Jacob Javits Convention Center, and many Broadway theaters. After retiring, he moved his family to East Hampton.

    He was born in New York City on Aug. 16, 1927, a son of Harry Jaffie and the former Margaret Dooley. He spent his early years in New York City, East Hampton, and South Florida.

    He served in the Army during World War II, missing the Normandy invasion when his mother became ill. He was later stationed in the Pacific theater of operations.

    On March 12, 1956, he married the former Corinne Katherine (Mickey) Shea. The couple had four children, who survive: Harry Jaffie of Hicksville, Susan Jaffie of East Hampton, Tina Parsons of Brewster, Mass., and Diane Fleming of Southampton. He also leaves four grandchildren.

    A memorial celebration will take place at the Huntting Inn on Sept. 19. The time of the event is to be announced. Memorial contributions were suggested for any humane society.

Kate MacNiven

    Katherine Elizabeth MacNiven, who was known as Kate, began visiting Amagansett on winter weekends when her family bought a house there, and she lived in that hamlet for 20 years. She died on July 25 at St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx after a heart attack. She was 49.

    Ms. MacNiven had lived in the Bronx for the last six or seven years. The daughter of Margot MacNiven of Amagansett and the late Thomas MacNiven, she was born in New York City on Sept. 11, 1961, and grew up in Larchmont, N.Y. She graduated from the School of the Holy Child in Westchester County.

    Besides her mother, Ms. MacNiven is survived by a son, Andrew MacNiven of Amagansett, and by two brothers, Thomas E. MacNiven Jr. of Wainscott and Hugh MacNiven of New Jersey.

    A Mass was said on Monday at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton, the Rev. Donald Hanson officiating. Ms. MacNiven was cremated, and her ashes will be scattered at a future date.

William Warga, 68

    A service was held on July 7 at Calverton National Cemetery for William Warga, who died at the age of 68 of complications of pneumonia on June 25 in Las Vegas. His ashes were placed in a columbarium near those of his parents, the late William V. and Loretta Shade Warga. An Air Force honor guard took part.

    Mr. Warga, who was called Mickey, was born in Mineola on July 14, 1942, but grew up in Bridgehampton and Sagaponack.

    “Mickey loved sports with a passion his whole life,” Eileen Grubb, one of Mr. Warga’s sisters, said, remarking that her brother had been coached by Merle Wiggin and been a Bridgehampton High School student when Carl Yastrzemski, the Baseball Hall of Famer, was there.

    After graduating from high school, Mr. Warga joined the Air Force, which eventually took him to Nellis Air Force Base in Las Vegas, where he settled. Before moving there, he had worked for the telephone company in New York and Glendora, Calif.

    Mr. Warga is survived by three children: Beth Hunter of Bluebell, Pa., Diana O’Connor of South Bend, Ind., and Michelle Musnicki of East Hampton. He had been married and divorced twice. In addition to Ms. Grubb, Mr. Warga is survived by two other sisters, Rosemary Franca of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and Susan Grubb of Water Mill, and by eight grandchildren.

    His family has suggested memorial contributions to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.

Stanley Schellinger

    A graveside service for Stanley Schellinger, 79, of Sandra Road, Springs, will be held tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Green River Cemetery on Accabonac Road in Springs.

    Mr. Schellinger, who was known as Pep, died on Tuesday at Southampton Hospital. A full  obituary will appear in a future issue.

Herman L. Stephens Jr.

    Herman Stephens Jr., a 33-year resident of Gardiner Avenue in Springs and a custodian at the East Hampton Middle School, died on Monday at the age of 57.

    A funeral service will be held for Mr. Stephens today at the Calvary Baptist Church at 4 p.m., preceded by visiting hours from 1 to 3 p.m.

    A full obituary will appear in a future issue.

Joseph W. Sherry

    Joseph W. Sherry of Sag Harbor, a former electrician who served in three wars, died on Aug. 2 at the age of 84.

    Visiting hours will be held today from 2 to 4 p.m. and from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor. A Mass will be said at 11 a.m. tomorrow at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in that village. Burial will follow in St. Andrew’s Cemetery.

    The family has suggested memorial contributions to St. Andrew’s, 122 Division Street, Sag Harbor 11963, or the Stella Maris School, 135 Division Street, Sag Harbor.

    A full obituary will appear in a future issue.

    Andrea Cavagnaro Tillman, an East Hampton native and an active member of the Mattituck community, died on Aug. 7 at the San Simeon by the Sound Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Greenport. She was 64 and had been comatose since suffering a stroke in 1984.

    As a young woman, Ms. Tillman taught Sunday school at the Mattituck Presbyterian Church, wrote the Mattituck news column in The Traveler-Watchman newspaper, supported the Mattituck Library’s expansion project, and served on the board of the North Fork Environmental Council.

    While pursuing her education in the sciences, she worked as a nursing assistant and in the medical records department at Central Suffolk Hospital, and was a Riverhead Ambulance Corps volunteer.

    Born on March 22, 1947, she was the daughter of Trieste George Cavagnaro, who owned Cavagnaro’s Delicatessen and Grocery in East Hampton, and Merle Cavagnaro, formerly Merle Allen, who was a secretary at East Hampton High School.

    Ms. Tillman spent her early years in Alabama, where her mother had a number of close relatives, but returned with her family to East Hampton, graduating from high school here in 1965. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the State University at Stony Brook in 1969 and became a teacher of third and fourth grades at the Middle Country School District in Lake Grove.

    She met her future husband, Arthur Tillman, at the Post House in Southampton, then a popular place for young singles. They were married at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton in 1970.

    Starting and raising a family was a priority for Ms. Tillman, according to her family. The Tillmans had three children, and she was a “doting, generous, and resourceful” mother, the family said. Skilled at sewing, she often designed and made her children’s clothing, and made elaborate holiday foods and decorations. She played the piano, and encouraged her children’s musical education.

    She is survived by her husband and daughters, Lahra Tillman of Cambridge, Mass., Leah Sullivan of Mattituck, and Catherine Fledderjohn of Silver Spring, Md. She also leaves a brother, Richard Cavagnaro of Southold, and two grandchildren.

    Visiting hours took place on Tuesday at the DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck. Burial at New Bethany Cemetery in Mattituck followed a Mass yesterday morning at the Mattituck Presbyterian Church, the Rev. George Gaffga presiding.

    Memorial donations have been suggested to the Andrea Tillman Memorial Employee Assistance Program Fund at San Simeon by the Sound in Greenport. They can be sent to the center at 61700 Route 48, Greenport 11944.

    Joseph W. Sherry of Sag Harbor, a veteran of three American military actions, died on Aug. 2. He was 84.

    He was born on Jan. 25, 1927, in Sag Harbor to Joseph J. Sherry and the former Viola F. SanSoucie. Mr. Sherry was raised in Sag Harbor, where he met his wife, the former Leatrice Sherry Schiavoni, who also grew up there. They were married on Dec. 30, 1955, at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church in Sag Harbor.

    After graduating from Pierson High School, Mr. Sherry joined the Navy. He served in World World II, the Korean War, and Vietnam. After 21 years of service, Mr. Sherry retired from the military, and received disability for exposure to asbestos during his career. This was gained retroactively with help from Representative Tim Bishop, his family said.

    Mr. Sherry was a member of the American Legion and the Stephen Potter DD538 Association, an organization of veterans of one of the nine ships he served on. His son said that the Stephen Potter DD538, which he served on during the Korean War, was one of his father’s favorite ships because the men on that ship were the best he had served with. He also served for three years in Italy under NATO from 1953 to 1956.

    While Mr. Sherry was in the Navy, his family lived in San Diego and New Jersey. In 1969, they moved to Sag Harbor, where Mr. Sherry worked as an electrician.

    According to his son, Mr. Sherry was an eccentric character who was known for wearing neon colored jumpsuits with red and green socks, and a straw hat. He was also an artist with landscape lighting, and was described in House and Garden magazine as “carving shadows in the darkness.”

    Mr. Sherry was predeceased by his wife, and is survived by their four children, Matthew J. Sherry of Sag Harbor, Thomas J. Sherry of St. Petersburg, Fla., Ann Louise Sherry of Hampton Bays, and Jon A. Sherry of Huntington Station, along with four grandchildren.

    A service was held on Friday at St. Andrew’s. Mr. Sherry was buried at St. Andrew’s Cemetery in Sag Harbor.

    The family suggested memorial contributions to the church or to the Stella Maris School, also in Sag Harbor.

    Lisette Blumenfeld Georges, who with her husband, the painter Paul Georges, entertained some of the leading artists of the time at their Sagaponack house, died on Monday in New York City as a result of complications of Crohn’s disease. She was 89 years old.

    Lisette Blumenfeld was born in May 1922 in Amsterdam, the eldest child of the artist Erwin Blumenfeld, who became a successful photographer noted for his Vogue magazine images of Audrey Hepburn, and Lena Citroen. The Blumenfeld family lived in Zandvoort on the Zee, and then in Ardenhout. Mrs. Georges was a model and assistant for her father, recalling time spent once in a darkroom closet under the stairs. A portrait by her father of her legs, titled “Lisette’s Legs,” graced a two-page spread in Vogue, the first of a series of images in Vogue by Mr. Blumenfeld featuring his daughter.

     When she was 14, in 1937, she, her mother, and two younger brothers joined Mr. Blumenfeld in Paris. She spent her first year in France cutting classes to go to the cinema, then dropped out of school, continuing to work for her father. She and her family frequently dined at Cafe du Dome in Montparnasse, where they rubbed shoulders with Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Georges Rouault, and other famed artists of the day.

    Their life was to change with the onset of World War II.

    The Blumenfelds were sent to several concentration camps. Mrs. Georges, by then 18, was sent to one in Gurs. After six months, however, she and the other members of her family were freed to join one another and go to Marseille, where they were aided by Varian Fry, an American who ran a rescue network that saved thousands from the Nazis. With his help they obtained visas and bought passage to America in May 1941.

    However, their ship was held in Morocco and the family was again interned. They were finally allowed to board a Portuguese ship and arrived in New York on Aug. 9 of that year.

    Mrs. Georges learned English by going to movies every day at the Museum of Modern Art. Her first English phrase, according to her unpublished memoirs, was “ham and cheese on rye.”

    New York City was a haven for her in more ways than one. Mrs. Georges explored the city from the Savoy Ballroom in Harlem to cafe society in Greenwich Village. After the war, she returned to Paris to work for Life magazine. It was there, at a party, that she met the man who was to become her husband. They were married on Jan. 23, 1950, and lived for the next two years in France. Their marriage lasted until 2002, when Mr. Georges died of a heart attack.

    “Lisette introduced Paul to the music of Bach on their first date,” according to a statement from her family and friends. “And throughout the 52 years of marriage she was the consummate artist’s wife and partner, dispensing with comforts of any kind save music and literature, and sacrificing her very being for the sake of her husband’s work and creativity. She was impervious, imperial, and unflinching in her belief in her husband and the greatness of his paintings.”

    The year 1954 found the couple living on East 11th Street in Manhattan, with Mr. Georges designing sets for Tennessee Williams plays and Mrs. Georges giving birth to their first child, Paulette Theodore of Marseille.

    The couple soon started spending time on the South Fork, summering in East Hampton and Sag Harbor, before renting a house without running water near Poxabogue Pond in Sagaponack. Over the years, the couple divided their time between Walker Street in Manhattan, where they created one of the first artist live-and-work co-ops, and Sagaponack.

    After their second daughter, Yvette Deeton of New York City, was born in 1960, they bought a house on Sagg Road, where they lived until 1985 when they returned to France. During the last decade, Mrs. Georges worked sporadically on her diaries and memoirs, while continuing to visit New York.

    In addition to her daughters, Mrs. Georges is survived by three granddaughters. No information on services or memorials was available by press time.

    D. Elizabeth R. Stonemetz of Cross Highway in Amagansett died on Aug. 9 at the Westhampton Care Center. She was 94.

    She was born on Aug. 28, 1916, in Greenport, the daughter of Henry W. Rowland and the former Daisy E. Coen. Elizabeth Rowland was raised in Greenport and graduated from Greenport High School.

    She studied to be a secretary and began her career by doing the clerical work for the Greenport roller rink while still in school. She was married twice. Her second marriage was to the late Glen Stonemetz Sr. in 1986. For many years, she was the secretary for Ruscher’s store in Wainscott. 

    She was a member of the American Legion Ladies Auxiliary, the Amagansett Ladies Auxiliary, and the St. Luke’s Episcopal Church Guild. She was not a member of the Amagansett Presbyterian Church but she sewed with its Ladies Guild.

    A funeral service was held at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton on Friday, the Rev. Denis Brunelle officiating. Burial followed at Oak Grove Cemetery in Amagansett.

    Memorial contributions have been suggested for the sewing guild at the Amagansett church or for the Amagansett Fire Department’s Ladies Auxiliary, P.O. Box 911, Amagansett 11930.