Clarke Whitehead, 48

Clarke Whitehead, a public school teacher in New York City who spent summers in Sag Harbor, died of heart failure at his home in Brooklyn on Dec. 8. He was 48, and had been ill for two years. 

Mr. Whitehead, who was also known to friends as Cole, was born on Sept. 11, 1970, in New York City to the former Mary Ann Woody and Arch Whitehead. He attended the Fleming School in Manhattan and graduated from the Fieldston School in the Bronx before earning a bachelor’s degree from Stony Brook University. He received a master’s degree in education from the City University of New York, after which he began a 16-year teaching career at P.S. 94 in Brooklyn. 

During his college years, Mr. Whitehead was often in Sag Harbor, where he had many relatives and friends and held jobs at a landscaping company and a taxi service. He also worked part time at King Kullen in Bridgehampton, the old A&P supermarket in East Hampton, and delivering The New York Times to homes and businesses. Later, during summer vacations, he worked and developed a love of cooking at the former Barefoot Contessa gourmet food shop and at Nick and Toni’s restaurant, both in East  Hampton. 

An enthusiastic traveler, Mr. Whitehead often spent time in South America to study and improve his Spanish language skills. 

He is survived by his mother, Mary Ann Whitehead of Sag Harbor, a brother, Colson Whitehead of New York City, and by two sisters, Ann Moore of Mamaroneck and Lynn Whitehead of Sag Harbor, as well as by two aunts, four nephews, a niece, and two cousins. His father died before him.

The Rev. Lloyd Perrell conducted a funeral service on Dec. 15 at the Woody Home for Services in Orange, N.J.