Skip to main content

Stewart Miller Cullum

Wed, 11/27/2019 - 11:45

Sept. 29, 1941 - Nov. 9, 2019

Stewart Miller Cullum, who grew up in East Hampton, died on Nov. 9 at Good Shepherd Hospice in Port Jefferson. He was 78 and had been ill with cancer for three years.

Mr. Cullum served for two years in the Army Reserve and, when he was given an honorable discharge, had attained the rank of Specialist 5th Class.

He worked for 30 years for the New York Telephone Company and Verizon, starting in Manhattan in 1961 and retiring in 1991 from Verizon in Yaphank.

Mr. Cullum, who was a “loving, caring, and supporting husband, father, grandfather, and friend,” his family said, was born on Sept. 29, 1941, at South­ampton Hospital, one of six children of Miller Bennett Cullum and Julia Ruppel Cullum. The family lived on Three Mile Harbor Road in East Hampton, and Mr. Cullum attended the local schools but ultimately graduated from Bryant High School in Astoria, Queens.

Once he started working for the telephone company, Mr. Cullum moved to New York City but stayed a volunteer at St. Frances Cabrini Church in Coram. He enjoyed fishing, birdwatching, and gardening, and was a member of the Southampton, Eastern Long Island, and Southern Long Island pigeon racing clubs and also of the Audubon Society.

In 1966, he married Mary Hoch, who survives and lives in Middle Island.Two children also survive, Barbara Ferolito of Smithtown and Michael Cullum of Port Jefferson Station, as do three grandchildren. His four surviving siblings are Walter Thomason and Audrey Talmage of East Hampton, Charles Cullum of Nineveh, N.Y., and Phillip Cullum of San Tan Valley, Ariz. Another sibling, Francis Thomason of East Hampton, died before him.

There was a prayer service led by Deacon Monte Naylor at the Hale and Lynch Funeral Home in Middle Island. A funeral Mass was said on Nov. 15 by the Rev. Gil Lap at St. Frances Cabrini Church. Mr. Cullum was buried at Calverton National Cemetery.

The family has suggested memorial donations to the American Cancer Society, at cancer.org, and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, at stjude.org.

Villages

Tariffs Are Sobering News for Liquor Stores

It’s not clear when, or if, President Trump’s European alcohol tariff will ever go live. Nonetheless, the threat is looming over South Fork wine and liquor retailers, who have been forced to react to the uncertainty. 

Mar 27, 2025

East Hampton Star Shines at Better Newspaper Contest

Durell Godfrey, The East Hampton Star’s longtime staff photographer and a fixture at community events from Montauk to Southampton, has once again been named one of New York State’s top photographers. At the New York Press Association’s annual conference last week in Saratoga Springs, The Star’s newsletter also repeated in winning first place in the Best Newsletter category, capping a successful awards season for the paper. 

Mar 27, 2025

A Short Parade That’s Become a Big Success

For the first Am O'Gansett Parade in 2009, the organizers jokingly promised Clydesdales, Macy's balloons, and floats. With good humor and an enthusiastic response from the community, the very short parade has been an annual event ever since.

Mar 20, 2025

 

Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family.

Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.