Deyo Trowbridge, 75, High School Teacher
Deyo Eugene Trowbridge, who taught science at East Hampton High School from 1966 to 1996, died on Dec. 6 at home in Ocala, Fla. He was 75 and had Lewy body dementia, a form of Parkinson’s disease, his family said.
He was born on Oct. 12, 1942, in Oneonta, N.Y., the second of five children of Freida Mary Williams and Gerald D. Trowbridge. His father died when he was a teenager. He graduated from Otego Central School in Oneonta in 1960.
On Aug. 9, 1963, he married his best friend, Darlene Holden.
Mr. Trowbridge received a bachelor’s degree in science from Hartwick College in 1964. He used this degree to obtain a state teaching certificate in mathematics, physics, social studies, and general science for grades seven through 12.
He next obtained a master’s degree, having spent four summers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y.
In 1966, Mr. Trowbridge was hired as a teacher in the science department at East Hampton High School. There, he taught both physics and “earth science” for more than 30 years. His family said that he loved watching students’ eyes light up when they began to understand the material. He pushed his students to strive to go further and learn more than they thought they could. “Teach to mediocrity and that’s what you’ll get,” he would say.
He served his community as a member of the East Hampton Village Ambulance Association for 23 years, moving from a basic emergency medical technician to an advanced E.M.T. He was the ambulance association’s chief for eight years, and taught cardiopulmonary resuscitation in American Heart Association courses, as well as defensive driving classes.
His heart was always in music, his family said. Playing the piano and singing were his release and joy. For more than 40 years, he was a pianist for the Hamptons Alliance Church in Water Mill, but could play piano to accompany any sort of musical performance. He will be remembered by friends at the keyboard during sing-alongs at the Buckhout family’s annual Christmas parties. He also sang tenor in the Whalers Chorus and in many competition quartets as part of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America.
In his later years, he was a Eucharistic minister at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton. He also enjoyed spending time in his final days with his many children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
He is survived by his wife, Darlene Trowbridge, and four children: Sean Trowbridge and Colan Jay Trowbridge of East Hampton, Jeremy David Trowbridge of Greenville, S.C., and Namie Joy Singer of Tampa, Fla. Nine grandchildren and five great-grandchildren survive, as well.
Mr. Trowbridge was remembered this week by his family as a protector and nurturer to all who needed him, especially to Nhan Nguyen of Pennsylvania and Phoung Nguyen of Plainview, whom he considered his children, as well. His parents and his step-father, George Evans (whom his mother had married in 1963) died before him, as did a grandson and a great-grandson.
A memorial service will be held at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton tomorrow morning at 11.
A reception lunch will be held in Hoie Hall immediately after the service, and his family has said they hope to greet his friends from throughout the years.
The family has suggested memorial donations to St. Luke’s Outreach, 18 James Lane, East Hampton 11937.