Tom Twomey, Lawyer and Library Chairman, Is Dead at 68
Tom Twomey, a lawyer, community leader, and chairman of the East Hampton Library, died on Sunday of an apparent heart attack. He was 68.
Mr. Twomey was the founding partner in 1973 of a firm that grew into the Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin, and Quartararo firm, which is based in Riverhead. He lived on Two Holes of Water Road in East Hampton's Northwest Woods with his wife, Judith Hope.
Early in his career he was an assistant town attorney for Southampton Town and at various times was special counsel for Southold, Riverhead, Shelter Island, East Hampton, Brookhaven, Smithtown, and Babylon Towns on various matters. He was appointed by Gov. Hugh Carey to the New York State Energy Council in 1978 and the New York State Freshwater Wetlands Appeals Board in 1979, and to the Long Island Power Authority in 1989.
Mr. Twomey was named by Gov. Mario Cuomo to lead the East End Economic and Environmental Institute, which led to the creation of the New York State Farmland Preservation Program, the acquisition of parkland, and increased support for the tourist and wine industries and recreational needs of the East End.
He was a recreational pilot, keeping an aircraft at East Hampton Airport, and was active both professionally and personally in advocating on behalf of airport interests. Recently, he was a member of an East Hampton Town committee led by Councilwoman Kathee Burke-Gonzalez that had been asked to study the future options for the airport.
Among Mr. Twomey's more recent accomplishments was serving as a co-chairman of the East Hampton Town 350th Anniversary Committee, for which he produced a multivolume edition of books on local history. An able fund-raiser, he led a lengthy, sometimes hard-fought effort to expand the East Hampton Library, lining up private donations for a $6.5 million addition for a new children's room and meeting space. In a statement released on Monday Dennis Fabiszak, the library's director said Mr. Twomey was "an extraordinary leader who was dedicated to making this one of the greatest small libraries in America."
He was also a member of the board at the Guild Hall cultural center in East Hampton.
Visiting hours for Mr. Twomey will be Friday from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton.
His funeral will be Saturday at 1 p.m. at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in East Hampton. A reception will follow at East Hampton Point restaurant on Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton.
Donations in his memory have been suggested to the East Hampton Library, 159 Main Street, East Hampton 11937.