Clintons Among Twomey’s Many Mourners

St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton was filled to capacity for the funeral on Saturday afternoon of Thomas A. Twomey, an East Hampton resident who in some 40 years as an attorney and civic leader had a broad salutary effect on the East End community. Mr. Twomey died at his house on Two Holes of Water Road on Nov. 16, of an apparent heart attack. He was 68 years old, and his death was unexpected.

Extra chairs had been brought into the church to accommodate an estimated 350 mourners, while another group was seated in the church’s small chapel in Hoie Hall, where they were able to watch the proceedings on a live TV feed.

Admiration and affection for Mr. Twomey was evident as family members, legal partners, and community leaders testified to Mr. Twomey’s effect on them as individuals and as representatives of local institutions. They cited his efforts to preserve the land and the history of the East End and his leading role in protecting the environment from nuclear plants planned for Jamesport and Shoreham.

Notable among those offering tributes was Hillary Rodham Clinton, the former secretary of state. That she and former President Bill Clinton were to attend the service, and the reception that followed at East Hampton Point, a restaurant on Three Mile Harbor Road, had not been known until that morning even to members of the Twomey legal firm.

Speaking extemporaneously, Mrs. Clinton called Mr. Twomey “a public servant in every sense of that term.” She recalled her run for the Senate and, calling Mr. Twomey a “political genius,” said he had insisted she get to know the “real people” of the East End by arranging a meeting of North Fork farmers and having her sit down to dinner with Montauk fishermen. His concern for others and commitment to a range of causes were “uniquely American,” she said. Sprinkling her remarks with personal comments about Mr. Twomey’s “gusto” and “joy,” she said he knew “members of communities” were who made things happen in this country. “He knew how to find common ground and he knew how to stand his ground,” she said.

Heard repeatedly as others spoke were the accolades “kind” and “magnificent.” Stephen A. Latham, Mr. Twomey’s first legal partner, and John Shea, another longtime partner in the Riverhead firm, Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quatararo, were among the first speakers, with Mr. Latham recalling that Mr. Twomey had in one legal case used a painting by the late Sheridan Lord of Sagaponack to underscore the importance of saving the East End’s farmland vistas. Mr. Latham said he “could only imagine what the East End would have been like had Tom not settled here.”

Mr. Twomey’s devotion to local history and his skill in shepherding two additions to the East Hampton Library, including the recently completed children’s wing, were praised by Bruce Collins, a former East Hampton Town supervisor and library trustee who had worked with Mr. Twomey on the celebration of the town’s 350th anniversary. Ruth Appelhof, executive director of Guild Hall, praised Mr. Twomey, a trustee, for astute advice over the years and in connection with its major fund-raising campaigns for renovations.

A brother-in-law, Jim Cope of East Marion, described Mr. Twomey as a youngster, surmising that his love of the East End went back to time spent with his family in Mattituck, where he salvaged a derelict boat and rowed off among the seagulls, which, Mr. Cope said, had prompted his becoming a pilot and “looking beyond the horizon.” The phrase was a metaphor for many of the accomplishments Mr. Twomey’s legal partners described, all of which involved thinking ahead when others couldn’t, whether in building up the firm or its physical building, computer technology, or successful battles in the public interest.

Also attending the funeral were numerous officials, including Representative Tim Bishop, Southampton Town Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst, Southampton Councilwoman Bridget Fleming, and East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell, who was M.C. later at the gathering at East Hampton Point. It was announced that Senator Kirsten Gillibrand had sent the family a United States flag that she had arranged to be flown over the Capitol on Friday.

Among family members who spoke or read at the service were Soren Hope, Mr. Twomey’s granddaughter, and Nisse and Erling Hope, his stepchildren. Toward the conclusion of the service, Nisse Hope read “The White Birds” by William Butler Yeats, a poem she said was her mother and stepfather’s favorite.

Although it had closed for the season, Bonnie and Ben Krupinski, owners of East Hampton Point, reopened it for the reception, providing food and drink for the more than 300 who attended. Mr. Krupinski said it had taken days to find the staff, some of whom had to be rounded up on the golf course.

A bus had been chartered to bring many of the 55 members of the Twomey firm to the reception. They nodded in recognition when one of the partners, David Dubin, who also had taken part in the church service, counted off the long years many had been with the firm. Janice Olsen, Mr. Twomey’s assistant, received an ovation when he announced that she had worked with Mr. Twomey for more than 40 years, longer than anyone else. Mr. Dubin said Mr. Twomey was a gifted leader, who not only tossed projects to his partners but encouraged them to work independently. He praised Mr. Twomey for being a good listener, commenting that you could not say that about all lawyers.

The assembled also applauded, and shouted approval, when Gerard Boleis, a longtime colleague who had co-owned one of Mr. Twomey’s first planes, cited the names of other municipal airports and said East Hampton’s should be named in his honor.

Others who spoke at the reception praised Mr. Twomey for having helped them or the cause they had worked for. They included Stuart Vorpahl, a bayman and local historian, Tom Clavin, who said he had been working on a screenplay about Captain Kidd with Mr. Twomey, and Karl Grossman, who told a funny story about how Mr. Twomey wrangled a private interview with then Gov. Hugh Carey by calling out the name of a Catholic priest both knew.

Erling Hope also spoke at the reception, saying he and his sister were difficult preteens when Judith and Tom married, and describing his stepfather as supportive and loving through thick and thin.

At the end of the reception Judith Hope, who had not intended to speak, went to the microphone and asked those who had gathered not to grieve for her. “I am the luckiest woman in the world,” she said, citing all the time she and her husband had shared and their love. She thanked everyone who had come out and remarked that her husband had been able to work with others regardless of whether they agreed on the issues.

“We were passionate about our disagreements and fights,” she said, “but when the chips were down we got together.”