Rossetti Perchik, Clamshell Foundation Founder
Rossetti Perchik, a Springs architect and supporter of community causes through the Clamshell Foundation, which he founded, died on May 7 of cancer. He was 65.
Mr. Perchik was a selfless, thoughtful, and caring person, a number of people said this week. In naming him its Man of the Year in 2010, the Rotary Club of East Hampton said it was honoring him for exemplifying the club’s motto: “service above self.” Rob Norrby, the Rotary Club president at the time, noted that Mr. Perchik personally took on many community projects, “without any benefit to himself.”
The proceeds from fund-raisers organized by the Clamshell Foundation, which Mr. Perchik founded in 1991 and which has provided more than $100,000 in grants to local organizations, were used in part to provide turkeys and other supplies for food pantries, which he liked to hand-deliver each year. He also enjoyed presiding over the organization’s annual presentation of scholarships for East Hampton High School students.
Mr. Perchik had a rapport with young children, who loved him, and with animals. While living in Oklahoma, he had a Great Dane that he would take out for great romps, but more recently he was a devoted caretaker of a pet parrot, Harry Two Feathers.
He looked forward to the Clamshell Foundation’s sandcastle contest every year, hoping for nice weather, a good turnout, and a fun day at the beach for youngsters, parents, and others. Before the annual event, he highlighted a different local artist by displaying a work of art on the T-shirts created for the contest.
Some years ago, Mr. Perchik was motivated to save the summertime tradition of mid-July fireworks over Three Mile Harbor after the Boys Harbor summer camp closed. The camp had sponsored fireworks as an annual fund-raiser, and he reached out to Anthony Duke, who founded the camp, to Grucci Fireworks, and mounted a continually challenging fireworks effort, which he renamed Great Bonac Fireworks. It continued from 2009 through last year, thanks in part to Mr. Perchik’s personal support.
Rossetti Perchik was born in New York City on Oct. 18, 1950, a son of Simon Perchik and the former Evelyn Rossetti, who was known as Mickie. He grew up on Staten Island. The family had a cottage at Maidstone Park, and Mr. Perchik spent a good part of his childhood as a member of a pack of neighborhood kids there in the summer. He remained a fixture in the Maidstone Park neighborhood, where he lived in a family house that he redesigned and renovated.
He grew up fishing and clamming and supported environmental and conservation efforts throughout his adult life. He enjoyed the beach and loved fishing in the bay from his boat, a restored vintage motorboat in a signature bright yellow. He enjoyed having a good meal with friends, often preparing and sharing local seafood or dining out and socializing at Michael’s restaurant at Maidstone Park, which had been a neighborhood soda fountain when he was a kid. He also enjoyed football.
He was a regular at community fund-raisers such as the Springs Fire Department breakfasts. Under the Clamshell Foundation, he brought numerous cooks together for a chili cook-off that would draw a crowd on a late winter day.
Mr. Perchik attended Brooklyn Technical High School and went on to Oklahoma State University, earning his credentials as an architect. After living for a time in Oklahoma, he returned to East Hampton and established his own firm. He remained close to a circle of friends from his days in Tulsa, however, traveling to regular get-togethers.
A member of the American Institute of Architects, Mr. Perchik designed a number of houses here, and served as the architect of record for a renovation of Ashawagh Hall in Springs and other public buildings. He served on the East Hampton Town Architectural Review Board and was a member of the East Hampton Village Historical Society and the Springs Historical Society as well as the East Hampton Lions Club, which honored him at a meeting last week.
Mr. Perchik is survived by his father, a resident of Maidstone Park, as well as a sister, Dorian Bergen of New York City, and a brother, Dean Perchik of East Hampton. He was cremated, and his ashes will be scattered on the water, with a memorial gathering at a future date.
Memorial contributions have been suggested to the Clamshell Foundation, P.O. Box 2725, East Hampton 11937, or online at clamshellfoundation.org.