Frank L. Dickinson Sr.

Like his father and grandparents before him, Frank L. Dickinson Sr. had a personal relationship with Montauk, and he lived long enough and well enough to become part of its tapestry himself. 

He was born in 1924 at Third House, which actually was the third dwelling on Montauk (besides the lighthouse keeper’s quarters). The house, now a museum, was built in 1806 to replace the first dwelling, which was completed in 1747 on what is now Deep Hollow Ranch. Mr. Dickinson died of pneumonia at the age of 94 on Dec. 11 at the Long Island State Veterans Home at Stony Brook University.

The Dickinsons were among the first nonnatives to settle in Montauk. Mr. Dickinson’s grandmother ran a boarding house at Ditch Plain, which Teddy Roosevelt visited after returning from the Spanish-American War in 1898 with 29,500 veterans, who were known as Rough Riders and were quarantined in tents until doctors declared them free of typhoid and yellow fever. 

Mr. Dickinson’s grandfather and father managed Third House when Jack Prentice owned it as a retreat and hunting camp for friends. Mr. Dickinson’s father was the first superintendent of Hither Hills State Park, a job his son, whose nickname was Shank, took over in 1958 after having been employed as a state park policeman and overseeing the Montauk Downs golf course and Montauk State Park.

Frank L. Dickinson Sr. was born on May 22, 1924, to Frank W. Dickinson and the former Loretta Kelly. He married the former Barbara Wiggins of Bridgehampton on Jan. 10, 1946. She died before him.  

Mr. Dickinson attended East Hampton High School and joined the Army after graduation. He eventually became a flight navigator in the Pacific. After his marriage and upon his return from the war, he moved his young family to a Spanish-style stucco building that served as the refreshment stand at Montauk State Park. They later relocated to a house near the lighthouse.

One of Mr. Dickinson’s most unforgettable duties as a young officer was helping retrieve bodies after the Pelican, a Montauk party boat, developed engine trouble and capsized in rough seas off Montauk Point on Sept. 1, 1951, killing 45 passengers and crew members.

Throughout his life, even after Mr. Dickinson went on to be a New York State Park policeman and park supervisor, he maintained his connection to Deep Hollow Ranch and Third House. His brother, Jack Dickinson, ran the ranch’s guesthouse for a while and another brother, Phineas Dickinson, ran the cattle and horse business at the ranch. 

Mr. Dickinson’s knowledge of horses and horsemanship “was legendary on Long Island,” his son Bradley W. Dickinson of Montauk said. He was delighted when his daughter and son-in-law, Diane and Rusty Leaver of Weatherford, Tex., bought the ranch in 1971. They went on to run it for 40 years. 

He was a member of the Montauk Point Lions Club and a founding member of the Montauk Historical Society. 

Mr. Dickinson retired in 1980 and built a house in East Hampton but he often returned to the ranch to drive teams of horses, lead wagon rides, and teach young enthusiasts horsemanship skills. In his later years, his main hobby was restoring vintage carriages and  building scaled down authentic carriages that he shared with his children. 

In addition to his Diane Leaver and Bradley Dickinson, he is survived by his children, Frank L. Dickinson Jr. of Satellite Beach, Fla., and Kelly J. Dickinson of Lake Grove, along with six grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, with a seventh due in March. Three brothers and a half sister died before him.

He was cremated, and his family held a private memorial service.

Donations have been suggested to the Montauk Historical Society, P.O. Box 868, Montauk 11954.