Stuart Vorpahl of East Hampton, Crusader for Rights of Fishermen and Common People, Dies

Stuart Vorpahl, a lifelong fisherman, historian, former town trustee, and descendant of one of East Hampton's oldest families, died on Thursday morning at Southampton Hospital.

He was 76 and had been undergoing treatment for cancer.

Mr. Vorpahl "was a fierce defender of the rights and traditions of the common people of our town," East Hampton Town Supervisor Larry Cantwell wrote on Facebook on Thursday. "He could spin a tale and recite history at will with a good sense of humor while making his point."

"When he passed away today," Mr. Cantwell wrote, "we lost one of the most important advocates for fishermen and local residents."

"He was a man of the ages that we will never see again," said Daniel Rodgers, an attorney and advocate for East End commercial fishermen. "He was very easy to underestimate, but he was absolutely brilliant, one of the smartest men I ever met."

The $1,000 check issued to Mr. Vorpahl from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation in September, restitution for the 1998 seizure of fluke and lobsters from his boat, exemplified his conviction that the Dongan Patent of 1686, which created the town trustees, granted East Hampton residents the right to fish "without lett or hindrance."

Twice, Mr. Vorpahl was charged with violating state fishing laws, and twice the charges were dismissed. "He was railing at the D.E.C. for years that he did not need a fishing license because of the Dongan Patent," said Hugh King, East Hampton's town crier and director of the Home, Sweet Home Museum. "It was never brought to trial."

He was the embodiment of Samuel (Fishhooks) Mulford, an East Hampton merchant who went to London in 1716 to protest the tax on whale oil, Mr. King said.

"He was fighting this fight when the rest of us were in diapers," Mr. Rodgers said. "Stuart Vorpahl was not born to be a raconteur. He was born first and foremost a man of the sea, a fisherman. It was only through this frustration at bureaucracy and government regulation that he began challenging authority, and he never stopped. He never gave up; he never wavered. You have to admire that about a man. . . . He did this because it was the right thing to do. And he did it for all of us."

"His opinions came from his knowledge of the trustees and the deep-seated feeling for the little man," Mr. King said. "Who speaks up for the lone fisherman?"

Even during his illness, Mr. Vorpahl continued to fight for the rights of residents and the traditions of East Hampton. On Sept. 22 he attended a trustees meeting for what would be the last time. After a discussion of lease terms for residents of trustee-owned land at Lazy Point in Amagansett, he was typically direct. "I sat here listening to an awful lot of fuss and feathers," he said. "What in God's name is going on now?"

He returned to the lectern later in the evening, when discussion had turned to the dense blue-green algae bloom at Georgica Pond in East Hampton, blamed in part on excessive use of lawn fertilizer and aging septic systems. Pondfront property owners were appealing to the trustees to open the pond to the Atlantic Ocean ahead of, and in addition to, their historic twice-yearly schedule. "Stick to the original schedules," Mr. Vorpahl told the trustees, "which were always tied to the migration of fish. All those people who live there have ratted it up. . . . The devil is here," he warned, "and he has arrived in gangbuster style. But do not open up Georgica Pond because of this situation. Let the people up there suffer, and suffer hard, and they will get together. . . . It's time to pay the piper."

He was not finished. "New York municipal law does not apply whatsoever," was his final message to the ancient governing body. "Courts and judges are very powerful, but there is one thing they cannot do: that is rewrite history, yet they're doing it. For now, they seem to be getting away with it."

The Rev. Steven Howarth of the Amagansett Presbyterian Church said on Friday that Mr. Vorpahl was an active and stalwart member of the congregation. He "would play a role in the church not unlike his role in the community: pay attention to changes. . . . He wouldn't want us to let go of the old unless the new was going to add something. He was also just a warm, welcoming fellow. New members and visitors to the church often found themselves in conversation with him at our coffee hour after worship. His gift for engaging other folks is something we're going to miss."

Diane McNally, a trustee and until this month the body's longtime clerk, called Mr. Vorpahl "so wise and so steadfast in his opinions and thoughts on what the trustees represent." He taught her a lot, she said. "I knew that if I had him supporting whatever I was doing on behalf of the trustees, I was going in the right direction."

Mr. Vorpahl is survived by his wife, Mary Vorpahl of East Hampton, and by two daughters, Christine Vorpahl of Sagaponack and Susan Vorpahl of East Hampton, as well as five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

A viewing will be held at Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton on Sunday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. and Monday from 7 to 9 p.m. only. A funeral service will be held at the Amagansett Presbyterian Church on Tuesday at 11 a.m., followed by a reception at the Amagansett Firehouse. 

A full obituary will appear in a future issue of The Star.