Obituaries

Budd Levinson, a philanthropist who had been an entrepreneur in the textiles business, Navy veteran, and inveterate fisherman, died at his home in Springs on Dec. 20. He was 101.

Cathy Anne Tobin, who lived on Navy Road in Montauk for the past eight years, died of complications of diabetes on Feb. 1 at Southampton Hospital.

Donald M. Halsey, who had been the East Hampton Village clerk and treasurer from 1966 until his retirement in 1982, died on Jan. 30 at the Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Southampton.

Phyllis C. Byrne of East Hampton, who together with her late husband, Patrick, owned and ran the Huntting Lane Rest Home until 2006, died on Jan. 21 at the Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Southampton, where she had been for several months.

Roger Dale Myrick died on Jan. 21 at Southampton Hospital of complications of a stroke. He was 71 and had been planning to go back to work as chef in March at Cappelletti, a restaurant on Noyac Road in Sag Harbor.

Harvey M. Spear, an attorney who served with the United States Marine Corps during World War II, died on Jan. 22 at his home in Manhattan.

Monty Silver, a talent agent whose clients were among the stars of stage and screen, died at his home in Springs on Jan. 19 of bladder cancer. He was 83 and had been ill for 13 months. His family said he had been treasured for his warmth and sharp sense of humor.

James C. Welsch Jr. of East Hampton and Huntington died at Huntington Hospital on Jan. 20 after a brief illness.

John Easevoli of Key Largo, Fla., and Amagansett died on Jan. 24 at Southampton Hospital of complications of a heart attack he had had several months earlier.

Funeral services for Donald M. Halsey of Fithian Lane, East Hampton, will be held at the East Hampton Presbyterian Church tomorrow.

Eugene Lyle Stoler of East Hampton and New York City died at home in the city on Saturday.

Michael C. Hennessy, 80, a resident of North Haven from 1974 to 1988 who had since moved to Dingle in Ireland’s County Kerry, died at home there on Sunday after a two-year illness.

Clara Hamilton, who had been the secretary of the Amagansett Presbyterian Church for 30 years before she retired about 10 years ago, died on Jan. 18 at the Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Southampton, where she had been for six months.

A memorial service will be held on Saturday in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., for Mary Hawke, 89, of Southampton, who died on Jan. 20. Funeral services were held on Jan. 23 at the Southampton Presbyterian Church, followed by private burial in Flemington, N.J.

A full obituary will appear in a future issue.

Joseph D. Policano of East Hampton, a retired public relations executive, was well known to regular readers of The East Hampton Star for his near-weekly letters to the editor over many years.

Susanna Irma Jacob, a tailor, ceramic artist, friend to animals, and involved parishioner at St. Therese de Lisieux Catholic Church in Montauk, died at Southampton Hospital on Sunday of pneumonia.

Earl C. Rishel of Water Mill, a gifted musician and trumpeter who taught at Southampton High School for almost 20 years, died at the Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing on Sunday.

Visiting hours for Victoria M. Carillo of Surfside Drive in Montauk and Key West will be at Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton on Friday.

Marie Grace Steidle of Springs, a homemaker and longtime volunteer for a number of worthy causes, died in her sleep at home on Jan. 15 at the age of 93.

Mrs. Steidle was described by her family as energetic and sociable. She dedicated herself to community service, volunteering with the American Red Cross, Meals on Wheels, and the Southampton Hospital Thrift Shop, among others. A lifelong pursuit of learning led her to take classes in real estate, quilting, yoga, rug-braiding, oil painting, and cooking.

Howard E. Lester Jr., a decorated retired Air Force master sergeant who grew up in East Hampton, died in Portsmouth, N.H., on Saturday. He was 75.

George Ward Jr., a former Sag Harbor police officer and 29-year Fire Department volunteer, died at his home in the village on Jan. 8 at the age of 75.

Despite his young age, Matthew Lester, who was a senior at East Hampton High School, felt a great civic duty, not only to his community, but to the whole world, his parents said.

Visiting hours for Clara Hamilton of Amagansett, who died on Jan. 18 at the age of 85, will be at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton tomorrow from 7 to 9 p.m. Her funeral will be held there on Saturday at 11 a.m., with burial following at Oak Grove Cemetery in Amagansett. An obituary will appear in a future issue.

Robert D. Hildreth, who won a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star as a soldier in Germany during World War II, died at home on Tuesday morning.

Joseph Vincent DiBlasi, who spent all his summers in Montauk, died at his Northport home on Sunday. He was 67 and had had cancer for two years.

James Leonard Rea, who had a career with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, first as a surveyor and then, after several transfers and promotions, in the Soil Conservation Service, died on Dec. 29 at home in Ventura, Calif., of complications following a heart attack.

M. Grace Steidle of East Hampton died on Sunday at the age of 93. A prayer service will be held at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton at 2 p.m. on Sunday. An obituary will appear in a future issue.

Barbara Mahoney Brooks, a mother, author, and Georgica Beach fixture who was the matriarch of an informal artist and surfer commune in the earliest days of wave riding there, died of natural causes on Jan. 14 in New York City.

Services for Matthew Lester of Springs, a 17-year-old East Hampton High School student who died on Monday, will begin Friday.

Ute von Engelhardt, one of the first Pan American World Airways stewardesses and a longtime resident of East Hampton, where she worked at a number of well-known shops, died unexpectedly on Dec. 31 while visiting her sisters in Germany.