Craig Tuthill, Former Fire Chief

Whether it was driving the Montauk ambulance, opening clams at a Montauk party, hauling ice and water for the triathlons, or helping a friend move, Craig S. Tuthill was willing to lend a hand.

A well-known, well-liked Montauker who was involved in almost every facet of that community, Mr. Tuthill died on Aug. 19 at North Shore University Hospital in Manhassett surrounded by his daughters and granddaughter. He was 80 years old and had been fighting heart disease for the last several years.

A 63-year member of the Montauk Fire Department, Mr. Tuthill was devoted to the fire service and remained active even in his later years. He fought some of Montauk’s biggest fires, like the one that destroyed a building known as the Fishangrila on Fort Pond Bay that had been deserted by the Navy. “It was the biggest fire of my life and was on one of the coldest nights. We fought it the whole night and most of the day,” he told The Star in an interview in 2010.

He joined the department in 1954, reaching the rank of chief in 1979. He assisted in nearly every aspect of the fire service, including the emergency medical service. When the ambulance squad was started in the 1950s, there was no such thing as an emergency medical technician, but Mr. Tuthill received first aid training and continued to serve as a driver for many years. He was said to have received many honors for his continued service to the department. When the Montauk Fire Department celebrated its 75th anniversary with a parade in 2014, Mr. Tuthill served as its grand marshal.

Mr. Tuthill was born at Southampton Hospital on Jan. 20, 1936, to Ellis Tuthill and the former Frances Scott. His parents owned the Montauk Lumber Yard, as well as Tuthill’s Home Modernizing Center, where he worked while growing up. He graduated from the Montauk School and from East Hampton High School. He then attended Paul Smith College in upstate New York, where he studied forestry.

He held several jobs throughout his life. He was a projectionist at the Montauk Movie Theater in the 1950s and ’60s and a ranch hand for Deep Hollow Ranch in Montauk. As a construction worker, he helped build most of the Panoramic Motel between 1972 and 1986. Later, he was a maintenance man there. He also worked as a corrections officer in the Suffolk County jail, a position then known as a jail guard, but left, he said, because the pay was so low. He was the custodian for the fire district for 23 years, and also owned Tuthill Home Security.

He married Joyce L. Michalek, and the couple raised six children on Elwell Road in Montauk. When the marriage ended in divorce, he eventually moved back to his family home on South Fairview Avenue in Montauk, which his parents had purchased in 1957.

His family said he loved to cook for them on special occasions, making his famous meatloaf, scrambled eggs and chipped beef, and waffles. He often uttered the phrase “Don’t worry about it” or greeted people with a “Hey, babe.”

A dedicated freshwater fisherman, he enjoyed taking his boat out on Fort Pond and Hidden Lake and also enjoyed fishing in Florida. He told The Star he never kept his catch. “I just never really enjoyed freshwater fish,” he said.

Interested in local history, he was involved in the Montauk Historical Society, of which his father had been a founding member. He helped organize the 50th-anniversary party for the survivors of the 1938 Hurricane at the Montauk Manor in 1988, his family said. He was also a member of the Montauk Community Church.

He celebrated his 80th birthday with a party attended by close friends, but there were many other momentous occasions, like his 50th reunion with the East Hampton High School class of 1955. In 2010, the Montauk Friends of Erin selected him to be the grand marshal of the 48th annual St. Patrick’s Day parade and he told The Star at the time that he had marched in it every year since the Montauk Friends of Erin began hosting it. 

Mr. Tuthill’s parents died before him, as did his brother, Bradley Tuthill, his sister, Peggy Barry, and his son Douglas Tuthill.

He is survived by his daughters Lorraine D. Shott and Carolyn A. Cox and son Edward S. Tuthill, all of Citrus Springs, Fla., his daughter Jacquelin T. Tuthill of Clearwater, Fla., and by his son Stephen C. Tuthill of East Hampton. He loved to spend time with his nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren, who also survive.

Mr. Tuthill was cremated. A memorial service is scheduled for Oct. 22 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Montauk Firehouse.

Memorial donations can be made to the Montauk Fire Department, 12 Flamingo Avenue, Montauk 11954, or the Montauk Historical Society, P.O. Box 868, Montauk.

“Craig loved helping others and never looked for anything in return,” his family wrote. “Let’s keep his memory alive by paying it forward, by performing random acts of kindness or lending a helping hand when needed.”