Peter Joseph Deleski Jr. “was the life of the party whose smile and hazel eyes lit up any room he entered,” his family wrote. “He loved socializing” and “his family and friends were his pride and happiness.”
Mr. Deleski, who was 80, died last Thursday.
A dedicated family man, he married “the love of his life,” Darleen Gay, on Oct. 2, 1965. “Their love story began as an engagement at Tides Beach in Sag Harbor,” his family wrote. They had three children, Karine, Paul, and Peter, and raised them in Sag Harbor, where Mr. Deleski, who was known as Poppy, had been a captain of the Sag Harbor Fire Department’s Otter Hose Company and a 21-year honorary member of the department.
He enjoyed playing golf with his friends at the Sag Harbor Golf Course, “had a talent for being a ringer at horseshoes, and was known to dance the night away with his beautiful wife at many Fire Department events.”
Born in Southampton on Feb. 14, 1943, Mr. Deleski was a skilled carpenter who worked in the industry for 40 years “and was meticulous with the finish work in some of the most beautiful homes on the East End,” his family said. “He adored his grandchildren, Brittany, Rebecca, Mitchell, Emma, and Kate, along with his great-grandchildren, Rilynn and Ronan.”
His wife died in February of 2022. A celebration of their lives will be held this summer.
Donations in his name have been suggested to the Sag Harbor Fire Department’s Otter Hose Company, P.O. Box 209, Sag Harbor 11963.
“His love and kindness will be cherished always and he will be held in our hearts forever,” his family wrote.