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For Harold J. Levy Sr.

For Harold J. Levy Sr.

By
Star Staff

A brief service for Harold J. Levy Sr. of Huckleberry Lane, East Hampton, who died at home yesterday after an illness, will be held at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton tomorrow at 7 p.m. An obituary will appear in a future issue.

Jean E. Rosen

Jean E. Rosen

By
Star Staff

Word has been received of the death of Jean Elizabeth Rosen, 86, an advanced emergency medical technician in East Hampton for many years who had moved to Monroeton, Pa., and later to Dallas, Ga. She died on Nov. 7, 2017, at the Wellstar Paulding Nursing Center in Dallas. 

Mrs. Rosen, a daughter of John Loewen and the former Anna Liebschutz, moved here at the age of 17, graduated from East Hampton High School, and lived here with her husband, George Benjamin Rosen, until their retirement. Described by her family as a “talented beautician,” she volunteered her time as an A.E.M.T. with the East Hampton Ambulance Squad, for which her husband was a driver. She was also a Sunday school teacher at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton. 

She was buried next to her husband, who died in 2007, at the Monroeton Methodist Cemetery. She is survived by a son and two daughters, Todd Rosen of Dallas, Ga., Lori Marsten of Powder Springs, Ga., and Marianne Pellegrino of Cincinnati. Five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren also survive, as do her siblings John Loewen, Miriam Strumm, Lena Miller, Julia Kyle, and Ruth Westerman of Pennsylvania and Anna Mae James of New York.

Peter Lowenstein

Peter Lowenstein

Traveler and Pilot, Feb. 4, 1935 - May 4, 2018
By
Star Staff

Peter Lowenstein, a world traveler and pilot, died at home on Lake Montauk on May 4. He was 83 and had been ill with heart disease for two years.

Mr. Lowenstein was born in Offenbach, Germany, on Feb. 4, 1935, the only child of the former Edith Kahn and Ludwig Lowenstein. When he was 3, he and his mother were sent to a holding camp in France and his father was detained in Germany. They were able to escape in 1938, going first to Belgium and then to the United States in 1941, settling in Manhattan’s Washington Heights. His family said they became “American overnight, never speaking German, and embracing the new culture and language.”

  Mr. Lowenstein reportedly learned to fly in order to shorten the trip between New Jersey and Montauk. He owned a six-seat Beechcraft Bonanza A36 and joined Angel MedFlight, a program that took children with cancer to treatment centers. 

 Before getting his pilot’s license, Mr. Lowenstein had been certified as a scuba diver instructor and certified his two sons in the skill, which had helped him overcome claustrophobia.

After his first son, Alexander Lowenstein, died in the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988,  Mr. Lowenstein and his wife focused their energies on the preciousness of life.

Mr. Lowenstein went to public school as a child and graduated from George Washington High School. He was a member of Mensa. He received a bachelor’s degree in leather chemistry at Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, and he and his father ran a leather business until they discovered plastics. He built a number of companies, including the Renolit corporation, which manufactures and distributes high-quality plastic film. He was the firm’s president from 1968 to 1998, when he retired and moved with his family to Montauk full time. Fairly early in the Vietnam War, Mr. Lowenstein was an Army specialist, able to remain stateside.

In 1965, he met Suse Meissner, an artist, at a dinner party. His family said he “was smitten right away. She needed some time: 24 hours.” They saw each other every day and married six months later in Montauk. She survives.

“She fell in love with his stability, trustworthiness, and sense of adventure,” the family said. They lived in Mendham, N.J., until moving to Montauk, where he was a member of Concerned Citizens of Montauk, the Montauk Citizens Advisory Committee, the Montauk Pilots Association, and the Children’s Cancer Fund.

Mr. Lowenstein and his wife traveled, often with their sons, through the United States, Europe, Asia, the Pacific Islands, Cuba, and the Caribbean. His favorite place to go and take photographs, a hobby he enjoyed, was Papua New Guinea. The list of places he had not been to was short, his family said.

But no matter where he went, his family said Montauk remained his favorite place and the friends he and his wife made there became their family. He was “known for his kindness, generosity, old-school manners, and sense of humor,” his family said.

In addition to his wife, his son, Lucas Lowenstein of Mountain Lakes, N.J., and three grandchildren survive.

The family will celebrate his life on June 2 at Rick’s Crabby Cowboy Cafe in Montauk, from 1 to 5 p.m. They have suggested memorial donations to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978, or eeh.org.

Roberta G. Donovan

Roberta G. Donovan

Face of Gosman’s Dock, Oct. 31, 1932 - May 10, 2018
By
Christopher Walsh

Roberta Gosman Donovan, a vibrant and vital figure at Gosman’s Restaurant in Montauk for more than 50 years and a former member of the East Hampton Town Planning Board, died at home in Montauk last Thursday. The cause was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Mrs. Gosman Donovan, who was 85, had previously endured a long bout with cancer.

As the face of Gosman’s Dock, she was unfailingly gracious to the public, her family said, and was equally sensitive and supportive to the large work force that staffed Gosman’s Restaurant year after year.

Managing difficult situations was second nature to her, said her brother, John Gosman of Montauk. In one incident, “A guy came in with a tire iron, convinced that one of our bartenders was seeing his wife. Our employee was using a swordfish bill to defend himself. Roberta coolly and quickly dispatched two local fishermen to escort the man out the door.” 

Roberta Gosman was born in Amagansett to Robert Gosman and the former Mary Harrington at the couple’s house on Abram’s Landing Road, which was then called Devon Road, on Oct. 31, 1932. The eldest of six children, all of whom were born in the same house, she graduated from East Hampton High School in 1950 before attending Rosemont College in Rosemont, Pa. She continued her studies in Switzerland, at the University of Fribourg, in 1954.

She was an enthusiastic traveler, her family said, visiting all seven continents and studiously logging many of her trips. “My earliest memories are of Roberta visiting our house, often after she had taken an international trip, and bringing us gifts and telling stories about whatever exotic place she had visited,” her niece Diane Marsella of Superior, Colo., said. “Roberta loved to travel in the off-season and continued to enjoy her group trips as long as her health allowed it.” 

She donated her time and energy to many causes, including Music for Montauk and Concerned Citizens of Montauk. She served on the planning board for seven years.

In 1978, she married Cornelius Donovan. Mr. Donovan died in 1986. 

For many years, she lived in the house at 153 Deforest Road in the Montauk Association, one of the Seven Sisters designed in the late 19th century by the noted firm McKim, Mead, and White. 

Along with John Gosman, three other brothers survive. They are Emmett Gosman, William Gosman, and Richard Gosman, all of Montauk. Misha Ferman of Montauk, her partner of more than 20 years, also survives, as do 11 nieces and nephews. Another brother, Hubert Gosman, died before her. 

Visiting hours were on Monday at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. A funeral Mass was said on Tuesday at St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church in Montauk, the Rev. Thomas Murray officiating. Burial followed at Fort Hill Cemetery, also in Montauk.

Mrs. Gosman Donovan’s family has suggested memorial contributions to Music for Montauk, P.O. Box 846, Montauk 11954 or the Montauk Playhouse Community Center Foundation, P.O. Box 1612, Montauk.

For Elaine Marinoff Good

For Elaine Marinoff Good

A service for Elaine Marinoff Good, a part-time resident of Bridgehampton and artist, who died on Sunday in New York City, will be held on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at Edgewood Cemetery in Bridgehampton. She was 82. An obituary for Ms. Marinoff, as she was known in the art world, will appear in a future issue.

For Marsha K. King

For Marsha K. King

By
Star Staff

A memorial service for Marsha K. King, who had lived in Hampstead, N.C., with her husband, Capt. Daniel King, since 2004, will be held on June 2 at 10:30 a.m. at Grace Presbyterian Church in Water Mill with the Rev. Steve Liversedge presiding. Mrs. King, who was 68, died in October 2017 of a stroke following heart surgery. Her husband survives.

The service will be followed by a private burial of Mrs. King’s ashes at Green River Cemetery in Springs.

Mrs. King grew up in Amagansett and lived in Springs until moving to North Carolina. She memorialized her husband’s family’s way of life in “A Fine Day for Fishing,” a fictionalized history of the end of  haulseining in East Hampton, published in 2013. Before they moved south, Dan King donated his flag dory to the East Hampton Town Marine Museum in Amagansett, where it remains on display.

Mrs. King’s interests included ministry and music, as well as writing. Two sons, Eric W. King of East Hampton and Anthony H. King of Wilmington, N.C.; two grandchildren, two sisters, Karen Haviland of Wilmington and Jacqueline Whitehead of Middletown, Conn., and a brother, Roy Wethy of Hampstead, survive. A son, Daniel V. King, died before her. 

Albert H. Khoury, 85

Albert H. Khoury, 85

Sept. 11, 1932 - May 11, 2018
By
Star Staff

Albert Halim Khoury, a career executive with Mobil Oil, died of a heart attack at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx on May 11. He was 85 and had been ill with Alzheimer’s disease for many years.

Mr. Khoury and his wife, the former Barbara Maloney, bought one of the first houses in Settlers Landing in East Hampton, in the late 1960s, not long after the area was developed. They owned it for about 45 years, using it on weekends and during the summer more and more after 1994, when they both retired. 

A graduate of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, he lived in Pittsburgh afterward but then moved to New York City. A niece, Liz Dryden, said that photography, golf, and jogging were among his many pastimes. After he retired, she said, he took up day trading on the stock exchange, and was able to supplement his income quite satisfactorily.

Mr. Khoury was born on Sept. 11, 1932, in Cleveland, one of six children of the former Halla Ibrahim and Halim Houry, who had immigrated to the United States from Lebanon. His father changed the spelling of the family’s last name, dropping the “K” in order to sound more American, Ms. Dryden said, but Mr. Khoury changed it back, because, she said, he was proud of his Lebanese heritage.

In addition to his wife and Ms. Dryden, who lives in Orlando, Fla., Mr. Khoury is survived by a sister, Minerva Gressley of Willowick, Ohio, a brother, Edward Houry of Fairfax City, Va., and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews. Another brother and two sisters, Robert Houry, Georgette Busch, and Jenny O’Dell, died before him.

Mr. Khoury was cremated. Memorial donations have been suggested to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.

Eric B. Johnson, 94

Eric B. Johnson, 94

Dec. 9, 1923 - Dec. 29, 2017
By
Star Staff

A service for Eric B. Johnson, who died on Dec. 29, will be held on June 6 at 1 p.m. at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery on Cedar Street in East Hampton. 

Mr. Johnson, who was 94, lived most recently on Toilsome Lane in East Hampton, but had lived on Dayton Lane for 57 years before that. 

Born on Dec. 9, 1923, to Arvid and Sigrid Johnson, he was a member of East Hampton High School’s class of 1942. He served as a technical sergeant with the Army’s 38th Signal Corps from 1942 to ’46, taking part in the invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. He “personified America’s greatest generation,” his family wrote. 

Mr. Johnson went to Sampson College in upstate New York. He worked for the New York Telephone Company and Sam’s restaurant in East Hampton. He was married to Rose S. Nasca on April 17, 1949; she died in 2001.

Mr. Johnson was a past commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 550, a member of the East Hampton Fire Department, and had been secretary of the East Hampton Town Little League and a leader of East Hampton Boy Scout Troop 102. 

He is survived by a son, Thomas A. Johnson of East Burke, Vt., and by two grandchildren. His ashes are to be buried at the family plot at Most Holy Trinity Cemetery. 

His family has suggested memorial contributions to the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America at alzfdn.org, or the American Diabetes Association at diabetes.org.

Jesse Scott, 61

Jesse Scott, 61

March 20, 1957 - May 15, 2018
By
Star Staff

Jesse Teed Scott, a master carpenter who had been a deckhand on a Viking Fleet boat that picked up Cuban refugees off Key West in 1980, died of complications from colon surgery on May 15 at the Grand Strand Medical Center in Myrtle Beach, S.C. He was 61. 

Mr. Scott, who was called Jay, was born on March 20, 1957, in Brooklyn to Jesse T. Scott and the former Elizabeth Conrad. His father, an East Hampton resident, was a Navy man who moved his family to Montauk after leaving the service. Mr. Scott grew up in Montauk, where he was a member of a Boy Scout troop and eventually earned scouting’s highest rank, Eagle Scout, later becoming a scoutmaster. 

After graduating from East Hampton High School, Mr. Scott worked on the Viking party boats out of Montauk for a number of years before turning to carpentry, a trade he was introduced to in high school shop classes. Although largely self-taught, he became a proficient carpenter who worked for a number of companies over the years, his family said. 

Mr. Scott enjoyed fishing and scuba diving and had traveled to find the best diving spots. He was also enthusiastic about golf, traveling with friends to Myrtle Beach regularly for golf vacations. A few years ago, he retired to nearby Conway, S. C. 

Mr. Conway was briefly married to Maura Doyle of Southampton, and the couple had a daughter, Emily T. Scott, who died before him. He is survived by a brother, Wayne Scott of Montauk, and a sister, Jeanette Scott-Glinka of Conway. His family will hold a memorial service in Montauk at a date to be announced. They have suggested memorial contributions to Boy Scout Troop 136, P.O. Box 509, Montauk 11954.

Mae Harden, Nurse

Mae Harden, Nurse

Nov. 18, 1929 - April 30, 2018
By
Star Staff

Mae Frances Harden, a nurse at Southampton Hospital for 33 years, died on April 30 at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care in Quiogue after a brief illness. She was 88.

Mrs. Harden, who lived in East Hampton, earned her nursing degree at St. Vincent’s School of Nursing in New York City and, while working as a nurse, went on to earn a bachelor’s degree from the State University at Oneonta and a master’s degree at Long Island University’s C.W. Post College.

At Southampton Hospital, where she began working in 1965, she rose to become the day-shift nursing supervisor and eventually transitioned into the role of patient advocate. She served as president of the Patient Representative Association of New York. 

Mrs. Harden was born on Nov. 18, 1929, in Oradell, N.J., to Francis Eschenbach and the former Anne Barry. She grew up in Yonkers. 

On Dec. 1, 1951, she married William F. Harden. The couple settled in Malvern, where all seven of their children were born. Mrs. Harden began her nursing career at Mercy Hospital in Rockville Centre, where she worked from 1955 to 1965. “In the beginning days, my dad took care of us on the weekend and she took weekend shifts,” said her daughter Eileen Kochanasz of East Hampton. 

When the family moved to East Hampton in 1965, the youngest of her children was 10 months old, and she had the 7 a.m.-to-3 p.m. shift at Southampton Hospital. “Dad would get us off to school and she was home in the afternoon,” Ms. Kochanasz said. 

Mrs. Harden “was an optimistic person with a wonderful sense of humor,” her family wrote. “She touched so many lives and helped so many people as a nurse and later in her career as the patient advocate at Southampton Hospital,” they recalled. “If you sought Mae’s help, she would be diligent in her efforts to find answers for whatever the problem was.” 

She also did her part to help people outside the hospital setting, serving as chairwoman for a time of the East Hampton Catastrophic Illness Fund.

“Mae was devoted to her children and her grandchildren,” her family wrote. She organized family trips, made every holiday special, and was famous for her theme parties. For one, Ms. Kochanasz recalled, she gave everyone a couple of yards of fabric and had them come to the party in a costume or outfit incorporating the fabric. “She was fun like that.” 

Mrs. Harden loved golf and was a member of the South Fork Country Club in Amagansett for many years. Later, she would often play with her nurse friends at the public course in Sag Harbor and take an annual golf trip to Ocean City, Md. She enjoyed travel and counted Alaska, Switzerland, Russia, Germany, Ireland, and England among her many destinations. A cousin, Noreen Radigan of Bayport, was her traveling companion. 

She also enjoyed reading and was a member of the Red Hat Society.

Her husband died in 1996. She is survived by all seven children: Eileen Kochanasz and Raymond Harden of East Hampton, Jean Lia of Springs, Bill Harden of Lubbock, Tex., Kathleen Lester of Hampton Bays, Tom Harden of Calverton, and Paul Harden of Madison, Va.

She also leaves 15 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. 

Visiting hours were held 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 in East Hampton, with burial following at the church cemetery on Cedar Street. The Rev. Peter Garry officiated. 

The family has suggested donations to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.