Ronald Patrick Balcuns, a master builder and carpenter, died on Feb. 20 at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. He was 61 and lived in Springs. No cause of death was provided.
Mr. Balcuns was not only a “consummate perfectionist in carpentry,” said Dawn Flagg, his life partner, he was also skilled at metallurgy, ceramics, plumbing, and electrical work. His jobs ranged from high-end estates to the East Hampton Library, where he made bookshelves, the book depositories, and a hand-carved wooden book, engraved with the year 1997, that is situated on the library’s rear gable.
Ms. Flagg said he had a green thumb and especially enjoyed nursing plants back to life. He cultivated an annual victory garden. Other passions were swimming, snorkeling, hiking, hunting, berry picking, and fresh and saltwater fishing, including spearfishing, clamming, and scalloping.
Mr. Balcuns was an accomplished chef, and among his specialties were clams and smoked, glazed maple salmon that took him two days to prepare.
He grew up with dogs, and as an adult he loved his cats and helped trap feral cats in order to find them homes. “Ronald was generous, kind, and self-effacing,” Ms. Flagg said. “He came to the aid of all his neighbors and friends in need and saved a neighbor from a pit bull that had killed her rescue dog.”
Born in Southampton on Nov. 12, 1960, to Vincent and Gwen Balcuns, he grew up in Montauk and attended East Hampton High School. He moved to Springs in 1990.
In addition to Ms. Flagg, he is survived by three brothers, Vincent Balcuns of East Hampton, James Balcuns of Montauk, and Donald Balcuns of Cazenovia, N.Y. Two nephews, Michael and Jonathan Balcuns, and a niece, Katie Balcuns, also survive, as does Sweet Pea, “his beloved calico cat.”
Mr. Balcuns’s ashes will be scattered over a Napeague beach during the summer.
