Obituaries

Helen S. Witty, an author of seven cookbooks and a veteran of the Women's Army Corps during World War II, died on July 15 at Peconic Landing in Greenport. Mrs. Witty, who had lived in Springs for many years, was 101.

Averill Dayton Geus died at home in East Hampton on Aug. 1 following a stroke. Ms. Geus, a past president of the East Hampton Ladies Village Improvement Society who was instrumental in establishing its landmarks committee, was 89. 

Raymond Edward Hegner, a Montauk “real estate icon” for more than 50 years, died on July 22. He was 89 and had kidney disease.

Janice Marie Collins, an art teacher at the Springs School for many years and a member of the Pawnee Nation, died on July 24 at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care in Quiogue. She was 79 and had cancer.

A memorial service for Tom Kochie, a Sag Harbor photographer and artist who died on May 30 at the age of 74, will take place on Saturday at 11 a.m. at the Old Whalers Church in Sag Harbor.

Tom Griffin of Wainscott and New York City died of a heart attack in a New York hospital on Saturday. He was 66.

A yoga teacher who was passionate about nature and gardening, Tsuyumi Kobayashi of Montauk died at home on July 10. She was 69.

Janice Marie Collins of Springs, an art teacher at the Springs School for over 35 years, died on Monday at the age of 79. An obituary will appear in a future issue.

Anna Frances Sterling was a very kind woman who lived a simple life, appreciative of everything that was done for or given to her, her family said. Ms. Sterling died at home on Lincoln Road in Montauk on July 19.

Raymond Hegner, a Montauk real estate agent for more than 50 years who was fondly known as Big H, died on Saturday. He was 89. A funeral Mass will be offered today at 11 a.m. at St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church in Montauk. An obituary will appear in a future issue.

Mary Milholland Dick, who spent her childhood summers in her family’s house in the dunes next to the Maidstone Club, died at home in East Hampton on July 11. She was 93.

In addition to receiving visitors today from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton, with burial tomorrow at 10 a.m. at Cedar Lawn Cemetery, a memorial service for Lucas DeSario will now take place at the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Catholic Church hall in Bridgehampton at 11 a.m. tomorrow.

Lila Margulies of Brooklyn and Amagansett, a former guidance counselor and teacher, died on July 12 at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care in Quiogue. She was 49 and had lung cancer.

Carolyn Ann Parker, who had a 23-year career in billing and collections for the W.C. Esp fuel company in Bridgehampton, died on July 11 after a short illness at New Pond Village in Walpole, Mass., where she had lived since 2011. Formerly of Wainscott, she was 92.

John R. Lycke, a Montauk entrepreneur who built and owned the Montauk Laundromat, among other local businesses, died of respiratory failure on June 25 at Citrus Memorial Hospital in Inverness, Fla. He was 85.

Elaine Kirshenbaum, who retired from a long health-care career in 1982 as director of nursing of the Psychiatric Department of Coney Island Hospital and later owned Elaine’s Room Antiques on Pantigo Road in East Hampton, died in hospice care on May 6 in Delray Beach, Fla., of causes related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Ms. Kirshenbaum, who lived in Amagansett and Lake Worth, Fla., had been ill for six months. She was 92.

Between the years 2011 and 2018, members of the East Hampton Town Board could be pretty confident that Jeanne Frankl was somewhere in the audience during their public meetings. Chances were that she would have something to say, too, on whatever they were discussing — open space, beach access, affordable housing, you name it — and would enlarge on her comments the week after, in a letter to the editor of this newspaper. Ms. Frankl died at home on Town Lane on June 9, six days after her 92nd birthday, having been in failing health for two years.

Family was the most important thing to Lorraine R. Krimsky, who had been a junior high school math teacher in the New York City school system for 25 years. A summer resident of Hedges Banks Drive in East Hampton, Mrs. Krimksy died at home in Weston, Mass., on March 10. She was 93 and had been in declining health.

Carolyn Parker, formerly of Bridgehampton and Wainscott, died at home on Tuesday in Massachusetts. She was 92. Visiting hours will be held on Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Brockett Funeral Home in Southampton. A graveside service will follow at 1:30 at Edgewood Cemetery in Bridgehampton. An obituary will appear in a future issue.

Joseph Anthony Lombardi of Springs, who with his late wife, Nicola, was “a true pioneer in the specialty food industry,” died on May 10 of complications of esophageal cancer and Parkinson’s disease. He was 81.

Joan Regan McGivern of East Hampton and Palm Beach, Fla., died in her sleep in Palm Beach on May 5. Mrs. McGivern, who was 91, had been an interior decorator connected with Ellen McCluskey Associates for many years.

Margaret Edith Reilly, a secretary at the Montauk School from 1996 to 2017, died on June 19 in St. James. She was 70.

Kimberly Morgan of East Hampton, who worked at the I.G.A. supermarket on North Main Street, died at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital on June 27.

Joseph Aversano, a board member and driving force at the East Hampton Historical Society for 25 years, died of cardiac arrest at home on Egypt Lane here on June 25. He was 72.

Lucas DeSario, a 2006 graduate of East Hampton High School, died at sea on June 27 after having been missing for several weeks.

Jeff Dell, a film editor, artist, and collector of art who lived in East Hampton, died at his Upper East Side, Manhattan, residence on June 6 after a short illness. He was 87.

Susan McCarthy of Springs, who worked in bookkeeping and office management, died on May 30 at the Westhampton Care Center. The cause was related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and renal failure.

Isabel Spear Hefner, known as Min, passed away peacefully at her home in Amagansett on June 21 after a long encounter with breast cancer, surrounded by her family. She worked in The Star's advertising department for 37 years, retiring from her position as advertising manager in 2020.

John Roland Lycke, 85, formerly of Montauk, died on Sunday evening at Citrus Memorial Hospital in Ocala, Fla., due to respiratory failure. A full obituary will appear in a future issue.

Barbara Metzger, the author of over three dozen books and a dozen novellas, was a woman of many talents, working at various points in her life as an editor, proofreader, writer of greeting card verses, and an artist. Ms. Metzger, who was known as Bob-E, died on June 21 after a long illness. She was 79.