Obituaries

June Alice Kaplan of East Hampton, a painter and poet, died in her sleep on April 7 at her mother's home in New York City. She was 69.

James Mason was known to ride his bicycle from his home in Springs to his job in Bridgehampton at the Long Island Lighting Company yard, where he worked for more than four decades until 1996. The first-class electrical lineman and foreman continued his rides even after he moved to Hampton Bays.

Cycling wasn't his only hobby -- he sang with the Whalers Barbershop Chorus for several years in the early 1960s and loved sailing out of Three Mile Harbor into Gardiner's Bay and beyond on his boat, the Song of Joy.

Walter J. Thomason of East Hampton worked for 31 years with the Suffolk County Department of Public Works, but in his spare time, he pursued many interests. At various points in his life he raised and showed prize bantam chickens, raced homing pigeons, took up fly-fishing, photography, and wildlife caretaking, and volunteered at the South Fork Natural History Museum and Nature Center.

The daughter of two "hard-working immigrant parents," Dorothy Rose Carew of Montauk and East Hampton "knew the value of hard work," her family said, and it was "hard work and determination" that helped her graduate as a registered nurse from Kings County Hospital School of Nursing.

"Always thoughtful," Florence M. Kirch "never forgot to acknowledge an important date for family and friends. And with her warmth and easy smile, she made lifelong friends wherever she went, which made for a packed calendar," her family wrote.

James Mason of Hampton Bays, formerly of Springs, died on March 16 at home of complications resulting from cardiac amyloidosis. He was 84.

His wife, Carol D. Mason, and his three children, Janet C. Fanning of Hilton Head, S.C., Elizabeth R. McGuire of Johns Island, S.C., and Fiona M. McKinney of Albany, survive, as well as two stepchildren, Andrew LoMonaco and Christopher LoMonaco, both of Hampton Bays, seven grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, three great-grandchildren, and a sister, Jean Clappi Davis of California.

An obituary will appear in a future issue.

Reginald Jackson, 58, formerly of Amagansett, died in San Francisco on Tuesday from complications following a bicycle accident in October. He is the son of Jaki Jackson of Amagansett. A full obituary will appear in a future issue.

He was a driving force in the evolution of Gosman's Dock from a tiny chowder shack on Montauk Harbor to a sprawling complex of restaurants, shops, and wholesale and retail fish markets that has become synonymous with the hamlet. Mr. Gosman died on Saturday at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital of cardiopulmonary arrest resulting from Covid-19 pneumonia.

At the age of 45, after her sons left home, Andree Dean returned to Columbia University to earn a B.A. in art History. She then embarked on a career as an art appraiser and buyer for individuals, corporations, and museums. One of her major accomplishments was the acquisition of J.M.W. Turner's "Wreckers off the Coast of Northumberland" for the Yale Museum of British Art in the 1970s.

Charles R. Limonius of East Hampton, who with his wife had owned Buckley's Flower Shop and Garden Center for more than 60 years, died at home on Saturday evening, surrounded by his family, who said he'd hurt his back at work a few years ago and had increasing difficulty walking. His son Dennis said that he was all there mentally until almost the end

Conor Kinney, who grew up in Montauk, was one of the original skateboarders who frequented the hamlet's skate park, winning numerous competitions and earning the admiration of many.

George Washington Gowen, a lawyer and the former chairman of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, died of heart failure on March 14 at home in New York City. The longtime East Hampton summer resident was 91.

Richard Neil Bristel, an East Hampton mail carrier for 27 years, "was a reliable worker who rarely took a sick day," his family wrote. He "sought out a quiet, modest life, void of pretension," his children said, but he also had a keen sense of adventure, traveling independently and often spontaneously throughout his life.

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.

A particle physicist whose many accomplishments included developing technologies for sorting aluminum from other metals and for the automated sorting of recycled plastic, he died in Nashville on Feb. 20 following a massive stroke.

An East Hampton Town supervisor in the 1970s, he served as deputy Suffolk County treasurer for 24 years and was an associate professor at Suffolk Community College.

An international corporate attorney, pilot, sailor, and veteran, he enjoyed a remarkable "second act" after taking up the guitar around the time of his 80th birthday. He became one of the most recognized and beloved among the numerous musicians who call the South Fork home.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.