Marshall Garypie Jr., a science teacher and a member of the Sag Harbor Village Board in the early 1990s, died on Aug. 3 at Long Island Community Hospital in Patchogue. He was 86 and had been ill for three months.
A serious golfer, he was a former president of the Sag Harbor Golf Course, a tenure during which, in the 1990s, he was instrumental in helping to save it from destruction.
After New York State acquired Barcelona Neck, where the course is located, it was overseen by the State Department of Environmental Conservation, “but the D.E.C. was never involved in running golf courses,” his son, Marshall Garypie III of Sag Harbor, said. The putting areas were ripped up and natural grass planted, he said.
But the course “was dear to him,” Mr. Garypie’s son said. He agreed to serve as its president, and the D.E.C. handed control of it to the State Department of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation. After multiple meetings with state officials and involvement by elected officials, including Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr., “the state came out and said, ‘We’re going to give you a one-year contract to run the golf course.’ And that’s what they did. Everything has been good ever since.”
Mr. Garypie was also a member of the South Fork Country Club in Amagansett and a volunteer with the Sag Harbor Fire Department.
He was born on Aug. 28, 1936, in Southampton to Marshall Garypie Sr. and the former Madeline Austin. He grew up in Sag Harbor, graduating from Pierson High School before attending Brockport State Teachers College, now SUNY Brockport.
He and Anita Robertson were married on June 24, 1960. Mrs. Garypie died before him.
He began teaching seventh-grade science in Southampton in 1964. He was a teacher for more than 30 years, his son said.
In addition to his son, Mr. Garypie is survived by a daughter, Robyn Early of East Hampton. A brother, Peter Garypie of Elmira, N.Y., and a sister, Sharon Becker of Boynton Beach, Fla., also survive.
A funeral service took place on Aug. 8 at the Old Whalers Church in Sag Harbor, the Rev. Nancy Remkus and the Rev. Adrian Pratt officiating. Burial followed at Oakland Cemetery in Sag Harbor.
Mr. Garypie’s family has suggested memorial contributions to the Sag Harbor Fire Department, P.O. Box 209, Sag Harbor 11963.
