Obituaries

She "was a steel magnolia in the best sense of the word: pretty and delicate on the outside, strong as steel on the inside," wrote a friend.

Gloria Leber, a New Jersey native who lived with family members in Montauk for five years late in life, loved reading, traveling, and hosting tea parties and boating get-togethers. She was a kind, gentle, wise, and witty grandmother, her family said, who also happened to love the New York Yankees.

Pamela J. Gledhill, a homemaker and former teller and auditor at Bankers Trust and the Dime banks in New York City, died of breast cancer on Jan. 30 at home in Springs. She was 69 and had been ill for 10 months.

Idoline Scheerer, a fixture at Georgica Beach for more than 65 years, built a revered and enviable community of friends and family at her century-old shingled house behind the dune.

Paul Jones was a big-hearted, free-spirited man with a zest for life and many talents. A longtime fixture at the door of the Stephen Talkhouse, a real estate agent and entrepreneur, a violin player who also D.J.'ed, and a loving fiancé and father, Mr. Jones died of Covid-related pneumonia at Stony Brook University Hospital on Feb. 26.

A maker of colorful and evocative ceramic sculpture, Diane Mayo was a painter before she took her first ceramics class in 1984. It would precipitate a complete transformation in her work for decades to come. Ms. Mayo, who lived and kept a studio in Montauk, died of cancer on the night of Feb. 22.

Brian Callahan, a market researcher who as a youth lived on Jacqueline Drive in Amagansett's Beach Hampton, died unexpectedly at home in Hasbrouck Heights, N.J., on Feb. 12. The cause was heart failure. Mr. Callahan was 68.

John Anthony Malafronte of Settlers Landing, East Hampton, died of metastatic cancer last Thursday at Southampton Hospital. He was 87 and had been ill for only five days, his family said.

Vincent Joseph Wolfe, the founder and owner of Wolfie's Tavern in Springs, died of congestive heart failure at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital on Feb. 17. He was 89.

Mary-Ann Hobel of Springs and Manhattan, a math and physics whiz who became a successful producer and distributor of documentary and feature films, died at her home in the city on Feb. 3 at the age of 94, surrounded by family.

Teresa Harrington, an outgoing and well-loved ambassador for all things Montauk who worked at Gosman's restaurant for more than 50 years, died on Feb. 14 at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. She was 97.

August Paul Bouker, who served in the Army for 16 years and later worked in the construction industry on the East End, died at home in East Hampton on Jan. 29. He was 78 and had complications of Alzheimer's disease.

Martin Pettersen of Maidstone Park, who was known as Whitey, died on Friday after a long illness. He was 81. A graveside service and military burial will be held at Most Holy Trinity Cemetery on Cedar Street in East Hampton on Tuesday at 11 a.m., the Rev. Peter J. Garry officiating. Visitors will be welcome at the gravesite ceremony. An obituary will appear in a future issue.

Kathleen Patricia Thompson, who owned FiFi's Franks, a onetime hot dog concession at Main Beach in Sagaponack, died on Oct. 7 at home in Williamsburg, Va. The former East Hampton resident was 60.

Many people will remember Pamela M. Glennon from the stand at Spring Close Farms, which she and her husband, Darryl Glennon, ran on Spring Close Highway in East Hampton until this fall, when they sold it to enjoy retirement.

Robert Schepps was one of the first purveyors of bagels on the South Fork, having opened the East Hampton location of Hampton Bagels in 1999 following his success in Hampton Bays and Southampton. His "bagel family," as Mr. Schepps called his customers, reached far and wide, and he often donated bagels to senior citizens centers, food pantries, polar bear plunges, and memorial services.

William Ellis McManus, a doctor of dental surgery with a practice in East Hampton for many years, died of a Covid-19 infection on Jan. 30 at Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital in Vero Beach, Fla. He was 80.

Elwyn Richard Harris Jr., an East Hampton native whose career as a pilot spanned 36 years in the Air Force and the Air National Guard, died on Jan. 23 at home in Brentwood, Tenn. His family was with him. He was 73 and had been ill with cancer for five years.

Lottie Hartwell Gaines, a former member of the Montclair Board of Education in New Jersey, died last Thursday of complications of a Covid-19 infection at Virtua Voorhees Hospital in Voorhees, N.J. The East Hampton native was 85 and had been ill for three weeks.

Montauk's favorite son, John L. Behan, who, with broad bipartisan support, was the East End's voice in the State Assembly for the better part of two decades, and who, for three years afterward, headed the state's veterans affairs office before retiring from public service in 1999, died in his sleep of a heart attack at home last Thursday at the age of 76.

Sylvia Chavkin, the founder and organizer of the Poetry Marathon at the East Hampton Town Marine Museum in Amagansett, died at home in Manhattan on Jan. 27 at the age of 95. The cause was Covid-19.

Catherine Greene, formerly of Sag Harbor, was known to family and friends as Sweetsie for her kind, welcoming, and comforting nature. An industrious and dedicated child care provider and homemaker, she embodied the line of Scripture "for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also," her family said.

Sean Doyle, a native of Ireland and a resident of East Hampton for over four decades, died at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital on Jan. 2 after contracting Covid-19 at the Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Southampton. He was 86.

Over the years, Conrad R. Peterson worked his way up from an apprenticeship to become a master electrician. Known to his family and friends as Sonny, he could also fix just about anything else, from washing machines to screen doors.

Patrick Eugene O'Sullivan, who worked for the Postal Service in East Hampton Village for 21 years, died on Jan. 15 at Vitas Hospice in Sebring, Fla. He was 74 and had been ill for many years with congestive heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Mary Jean Bennett, a former driver for the Schaefer school bus company, died on Jan. 13 at home in East Hampton Village. She was 82.

Ms. Cammarata had a clothing business called Chuck's Vintage Inc. that was headquartered in L.A. with an office in New York City. She began coming to Sag Harbor with her future husband, Vincent Cammarata of Sag Harbor and New York City, in 2017. The two were married in July 2018.

Yuris Murillo Cruz devoted her life to her children, to helping others, and to her faith. The Amagansett resident was a parishioner at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church who, said her family, "liked to brighten people's days with daily affirmations or prayers."

Yuris Murillo Cruz dedicó su vida a sus hijos, a su fe, a la ayuda de sus prójimos. Vivía en Amagansett y era feligresa de la iglesia católica Most Holy Trinity. Su familia la recuerda como una persona que “disfrutaba alegrando el día de sus cercanos con afirmaciones y oraciones diarias.”

The family of Madeleine Sara Cammarata of Los Angeles and Sag Harbor will receive visitors on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton, with Covid protocols in place.

Mary Jean Bennett of East Hampton Village died on Jan. 13 and was buried on Monday at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church Cemetery on Cedar Street in East Hampton. An obituary for her will appear in a future issue of The Star.