Obituaries

Steve Haweeli, whose WordHampton Public Relations firm in Springs became the pre-eminent promoter of restaurants and hospitality companies here and across Long Island, died on Aug. 23 at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan of complications from Covid-19.

Richard W. Smith Jr., a past president of the Maidstone Club, died at his Borden Lane residence in East Hampton Village on Aug. 20. The cause was cardiopulmonary arrest.

James Howard Sweeney, who worked as a cinematographer, gaffer, best boy, and props man in the film industry in California for many years, died in his sleep on June 13 at home in Brooklyn.

A memorial service for Simon Perchik will take place at Ashawagh Hall in Springs on Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. Mr. Perchik, a longtime resident of that hamlet, was a well-known poet who died on June 14 at the age of 98.

Barbara Anne Sullivan was a fan of the arts. "She took great joy in her home and had a distinctive flair for design," her family said. An enthusiastic reader, she "surrounded herself with beautiful books" and also enjoyed spending time in her garden in Montauk. But "most of all," her family wrote, "she loved traveling and living all over the world with her husband of 64 years, Jim."

John Eastman, a prominent entertainment lawyer whose clients included the musicians Paul McCartney and Billy Joel, the Abstract Expressionist painter Willem de Kooning, and the playwright Tennessee Williams, died at his Lily Pond Lane, East Hampton Village, residence on Aug. 10. Mr. Eastman, who had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer two months earlier, was 83.

Before starting Robert E. Otto Glass Inc., Bob Otto was a partner with Ward Freese in a similar business. The two parted ways in 1960 and Mr. Otto took the glass business to a storefront on North Main Street in East Hampton. Five years later, he moved it to where it has been ever since, on Montauk Highway in Wainscott. Two generations of Ottos have followed him in the business.

Joseph John Raffel Jr., 89, a craftsman, painter, miniaturist, and bird carver who retired in 1992 from a 35-year career with the Long Island Lighting Company, died of lung cancer on July 22 at Saratoga Hospital in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

When she was in her 60s, Nula Murphy Thanhauser turned her passion for collecting antique and vintage purses into a second career, selling, appraising, and lecturing about them all over the country. She favored the most whimsical of Art Deco, Art Nouveau, and Egyptian Revival handbags and accessories. At one of her first shows, in 2006 in West Palm Beach, Fla., “customers were six deep in her booth,” Antiques and The Arts Weekly, a trade publication, reported at the time.

Katherine Lathrop McSpadden, an artist, teacher, and gardener who was known as Kate, spent every summer of her life until her mid-20s in Amagansett. She grew up sailing on Gardiner’s Bay at the Devon Yacht Club, riding at Stony Hill Stables, and her landscape paintings were inspired by the ocean vistas on Bluff Road, her family said.

Visiting hours for Robin Schiavoni, a popular teaching assistant at Sag Harbor Elementary School who died on Friday, will be Tuesday from 4 to 8 p.m. at Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor. A memorial service will take place at 7 p.m.

Visiting hours for David P. Hummel, who died at home in Springs on Thursday, will be held Wednesday from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. Masonic and Veterans of Foreign Wars services will immediately follow.

Visiting hours for James R. Ketcham of Montauk, a former town justice, will be Friday from 3 to 6 p.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. A funeral Mass will be said on Saturday at 10:30 a.m. at St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church in Montauk.

Ernest D. Wildner-Fox, a Parsons-educated interior designer and artist who lived in Montauk for more than 40 years, died on June 26 after two days of hospice care in Lehigh Acres, Fla., where he had been living since 2017. He was 81.

Andrew Malone Jr. of East Hampton died on Monday in Southampton. He was 95. Brockett Funeral Home in Southampton is handling arrangements.

Sue Feleppa, a real estate broker and former restaurateur whose community spirit led her to serve on the board of directors of the Amagansett Village Improvement Society and as chairwoman of the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee, died at home in Springs on July 28 of respiratory failure related to lung cancer.

Georges Briguet, who founded three highly regarded Manhattan restaurants — Le Perigord, Le Perigord Park, and La Reserve — between 1966 and 1983, died of a heart-related illness at home in Montauk on July 26. He was 85.

Melissa Bank, an author who taught in the M.F.A. program at Stony Brook Southampton, died of lung cancer at home in East Hampton on Aug. 2.

Alexander Kabbaz, a custom shirtmaker whose clients included Leonard Bernstein and Tom Wolfe as well as numerous business titans, world leaders, and celebrities, died in Amagansett on July 21 of a heart attack. He was 72.

Bernadette Koch, a summer resident of Fairway Place in Montauk, a former model, and a teacher in the New York City public school system for many years, died on July 28 at home in Basking Ridge, N.J. She was 81.

Jennifer Bartlett, a painter who rose to prominence in the international art world in the 1970s and remained an innovative figure perhaps best known for her monumental steel-plate paintings, died at home in Amagansett on July 25. She was 81. 

Loretta Orion, a retired anthropology professor, author of two books, and former French teacher who developed the gardens at the Home, Sweet Home Museum in East Hampton Village, died on July 25 at home in Amagansett. She was 77 and had been in declining health after having been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease about 10 years ago. 

Sue Feleppa died last Thursday at home in Springs. She was 77 and had been diagnosed with lung cancer two years ago. A service will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on Aug. 14, a Sunday, at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton.

Christopher M. Forsberg of Montauk, who used to spend summers at the Ditch Plain hotel owned by his parents and returned to the hamlet full time about 15 years ago, died in his sleep at home on July 13. His cause of death was unknown. He was 49 years old.

Robert D. Brown, a master tradesman who enjoyed golfing, snowmobiling, boating, and spending time with his grandchildren, died of a heart attack at home in Springs on July 9. He was 75.

Loretta Orion, a retired anthropology professor, author of two books, and former French teacher who developed the gardens at the Home, Sweet Home Museum in East Hampton Village, died on Monday at home in Amagansett.

Alex J. Rosenberg, a New York appraiser, art dealer, and civil rights activist, died of a heart attack at home in Manhattan on Friday at the age of 103. Since 1978, he had a house in Southampton.

Barbara Ann DiGate Webb of Amagansett died of congestive heart failure on July 18 at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead. She was 73.

Alice Netter, a leading force behind the fund-raising efforts of the Ackerman Institute for the Family, died of pancreatic cancer at home in East Hampton on July 22. She was 87.

Fabio Velez, who in recent years worked as a real estate agent with Corcoran in East Hampton and also in South Florida, died at Stony Brook University Hospital on July 2 following a short illness. He had liver cancer.