Robert J. Tulp, 81

    Robert J. Tulp, a fixture on the Amagansett social and civic scenes, died on Sunday at the Peconic Bay Health Center in Riverhead. He was 81 and had Alzheimer’s disease, his wife, Joan Tulp, said. He also had complications of a broken hip.

    Mr. Tulp’s involvement with the hamlet in which he lived was deep and varied. He was on the board of the Art Barge and the Amagansett Village Improvement Society. He was a leader of the local Retired Senior Volunteer Program and worked with students of English as a second language at East Hampton High School.

    He was the head of the East Hampton Town Senior Citizens Advisory Board and the Amagansett Citizens Advisory Committee. He was politically active as well, serving on the East Hampton Democratic Committee and once running unsuccessfully for East Hampton Town trustee. Mr. Tulp also volunteered at Southampton Hospital, spending a day a week escorting frail patients to and from the X-ray department.

    His son Matthew Tulp said that his retirement transformed him. “He was able to do what he wanted, and what he often wanted was to help others.”

    “He was very good to work with and very committed to helping people,” said Edna Steck, the director of the East Hampton Town Human Services Department.  

    “We will miss him,” she said.

    Robert James Tulp was born on Nov. 10, 1927, in Jersey City to Frederick Tulp and the former Regina O’Boyle. He attended school there, but left when he was 17 to join the Navy. He received an honorable discharge in 1947.

    Following his Navy service, he took advantage of the G.I. Bill to attend the American College of Mexico City, from which he received a degree in journalism. In Mexico, he became fluent in Spanish.

    After college, he returned to the New York area. He worked for a while in publishing, and then took what would be his first position in a long advertising career.

    While canvassing for the Democratic Party in Red Hook, Brooklyn, he met Joan Warendorf Thomas, whom he married at the Church of St. Charles, across the street from her apartment on Sidney Place in Brooklyn, on June 1, 1963.

    About a year later the couple bought a small ranch house on Gansett Lane in Amagansett. It was only the second house built on the block.

    Mr. Tulp became the head advertising copywriter for Muller, Jordan and Herrick in New York City. Later, he was a vice president at Loemher and Simpson, an advertising agency in Morristown, N.J., to which he commuted by car from his family’s Brooklyn brownstone.

    He loved opera and traveling, his family said, especially to Europe, where he would spend time in museums and historical churches. He was a frequent figure on the Amagansett tennis courts, too.

    Mr. Tulp’s two sons and two stepsons survive him. They are Matthew and James Tulp of Amagansett and Luke Thomas of Anguilla in the British West Indies and Evan Thomas of Amagansett. Two brothers, Eugene Tulp of Belmar, N.J., and Alan Tulp, also of New Jersey, survive, as do Ms. Tulp and seven grandchildren.

    Visiting hours are on Sunday at Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. A Mass will be celebrated on Monday at 10 a.m. at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton, with burial to follow at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in East Hampton.

    The family has suggested memorial donations to the Alzheimer’s Association, P.O. Box 7012, Albert Lea, Minn. 56007-8012; to East Hampton Town for the Montauk Adult Day Care Center, 128 Springs-Fireplace Road, East Hampton 11937, or to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.

John E. Sheehy

    John E. Sheehy of Amagansett died in his sleep of congestive heart failure on Saturday. The retired school administrator was 84, and had been ill for a brief time.

    Mr. Sheehy and his wife bought a summer house in Amagansett in 1979, and moved here permanently in 1984. He became involved in local organizations, serving as a member and president of both the Amagansett Beach Association and Amagansett Library, where he was devoted to the planning and completion of the recent expansion.

    He was a volunteer aide at Southampton Hospital and a patient volunteer for East End Hospice. In 1985, he became a member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton. Before long, he was a member of the vestry there and also served as treasurer and senior warden.

    Mr. Sheehy was born on April 17, 1924, in Mamaroneck, N.Y., to John and Patricia Sheehy. When he was 14, his family moved to Arlington, N.J., where he attended school until the age of 18. Mr. Sheehy joined the Army just two months before graduating from high school. He became a medic with the Fifth Army Infantry Division, and crossed over North Africa and into Italy, making it to Rome as the Allied Forces were celebrating their victory.

    In 1947, he returned home and completed his high school credits at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Soon after, he married the former Helen Eckhardt, and went on to receive a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education from Seton Hall University. In 1977, he was named “Seton Hall alumnus of the year.”

    While teaching at the middle school level, he did postgraduate work at Rutgers University, and he took his first administrative position as a principal in Haworth, N.J. He went on to become superintendent and board secretary in North Caldwell, and superintendent of schools in Parsippany-Troy Hills. He also served as an adjunct professor at Montclair University, teaching the psychology of education. He was a member and president of Phi Delta Kappa’s Montclair University chapter.

    According to his wife, Mr. Sheehy loved to play golf and garden, and especially enjoyed time with his family.

    Besides his wife, he is survived by three children, Susan Thorpe of Pagosa Springs, Colo., Scott Sheehy of Jupiter, Fla., and Polly Byrne of East Hampton. He is also survived by six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

    A service for Mr. Sheehy is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Saturday at St. Luke’s Church. His family suggested memorial donations to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach 11978.

Hugh A. Kelly

    Hugh A. Kelly of Queens, a general contractor who enjoyed boating and had spent summers in Montauk with his family since 1972, died on Nov. 8 at New York Hospital Medical Center of Queens, following a lung infection. He was 75, and had been ill with Parkinson’s Disease.

    Mr. Kelly retired about a decade ago from Kelco Construction of Queens, the contracting business he owned. “He worked really hard so we could enjoy our summers,” Clare Kelly of Montauk, one of his two daughters, said. Her father always had a boat, Ms. Kelly said, which he would take by trailer to Montauk for fishing trips. Both she and her sister, Patricia Kelly of Syracuse, appreciated their father’s efforts for the family, Ms. Kelly said.

    Besides his daughters, he is survived by his wife of 47 years, Thelma Connors Kelly. Two brothers, John Kelly of Lynbrook and Thomas Kelly of Norwood, N.J., and a grandson also survive.

    The family lived in Briarwood, Queens, as well as in Montauk. Mr. Kelly was born in the Beach Channel section of the borough on May 10, 1933. He graduated from St. Frances de Sales Church School in Rockaway Park. 

    Mr. Kelly served in the United States Navy during the Korean War, and was a member of the Navy League, as well as the Sons of Erin and the Elks Lodge #878. He was a past president of the Emerald Association of Long Island.

    A wake was held on Nov. 11 at the Fox Funeral Home in Forest Hills, and a funeral Mass was said on Nov. 12 at the Holy Family Catholic Church in Flushing. Burial was in St. Mary’s Cemetery in Yonkers.

    The family has suggested memorial donations to the American Parkinson Disease Association information and referral center at Peninsula Hospital, 51-15 Beach Channel Drive, Far Rockaway 11691.

Joseph J. Kristopowitz

    Joseph Kristopowitz, who was a fixture on the front porch of his Wainscott house, where for many years his gardens and nursery had become an attraction, died on Nov. 11 at Southampton Hospital. He was 97.

    Mr. Kristopowitz opened the nursery in the backyard of his house on Main Street in the late 1950s. Until recently, he had a stand in front of his house where he sold flowers and vegetables. People often stopped by to admire his gardens and to receive advice on growing their own.

    He was happy to share his wisdom, and was a mentor to many gardeners in the area, according to his family. He took gardening risks too, experimenting in greenhouses with growing plants and vegetables unusual on the East End, such as orchids, poinsettias, and avocados.

    Mr. Kristopowitz married the former Wanda Dankowski in November 1939. She died in 1986. At the age of 95, Mr. Kristopowitz still rode his bike to the Wainscott Cemetery, carrying a pail of water for the flowers at his late wife’s grave.

    He was curious about “everything,” which led him to read extensively, his family said. He taught himself to play the accordion and harmonica.

    He was born to Paul Kristopowitz and the former Mary Cituk on July 21, 1911, in Cutchogue, where he had a job as a caddy at the North Fork Country Club when he was 10. There, he learned to play golf. He would later teach his three children how to play.

    For many years, he was the estate manager for the film star Robert Montgomery and his wife, who lived in East Hampton. Mr. and Mrs. Kristopowitz traveled with the family to Maine each summer and fall to help the staff garden. The families remained close friends after their work relationship ended.

    He is survived by a son, Joseph Kristopowitz of Liverpool, N.Y., two daughters, Susan Kristopowitz of Wainscott and Emily Smeraldo of Naples, Fla., his sister, Bertha Trinowski of Riverhead, three grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

    Visiting hours were held last Thursday at the O’Connell Funeral Home in Southampton. A funeral Mass was said at the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Church in Bridgehampton on Friday, followed by burial at the Wainscott Cemetery.

Wayne C. Mortensen

    Wayne C. Mortensen, an outboard motor mechanic who lived in and around Sag Harbor his whole life, died at the Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead on Nov. 12 following a heart attack. He was 58.

    Mr. Mortensen worked at Peerless Marine in Sag Harbor for 27 years before joining Spellman’s Marine in Hampton Bays.

    He met his wife, the former Diana Goodwin, at the Bridal Path, a dance club in Westhampton Beach, in 1972. She stayed off that path at first, but he persisted, and they were married a year later. They lived for a time on Long Beach Lane and Noyac Road in Noyac before moving to a house on Joel’s Lane in Sag Harbor.

    Ms. Mortensen said her husband was a lot of fun and that they liked to dance. He liked to cook, and did their grocery shopping. He had become a rather good baker, she said, and had experimented with strawberry and blueberry jams this past summer. His pies and zucchini bread were particular favorites.

    He also enjoyed hunting, fishing, and boating, his wife said.

    A member of Alcoholics Anonymous, Mr. Mortensen often credited the organization with saving his life, his wife said. “He thanked God for the friendships that helped him in recovery,” she said. “He tried to give back to others who are fighting the battle.”

    One of his happiest moments recently was seeing his son Wayne Mortensen Jr. marry Sarah Van Asco in Aquebogue on Oct. 19. He enjoyed having all three of his sons home for the occasion.

    Mr. Mortensen was born at South­ampton Hospital on June 17, 1950, to Allan Mortensen and the former Margaret Krepela. He grew up on Glover Street in Sag Harbor and attended St. Andrew’s School. In 1968 he graduated from Pierson High School.

    In addition to his wife and his sons — Joseph Mortensen of West Brentwood and Wayne Mortensen Jr. and John Mortensen, both of Sag Harbor — he is survived by two sisters, Joan Gucker and Margaret Fiigon, and by a brother, Allan Mortensen. All three siblings live in Sag Harbor.

    A wake was held on Monday at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor.

    The family has suggested donations to the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps, P.O. Box 2725, Sag Harbor 11963, or the Sag Harbor Fire Department at P.O. Box 209. Wayne Mortensen Jr. is the second assistant fire chief there.

Memorial Service

    A joint memorial service for Leonhardt Rauscher of East Hampton, who died on Nov. 4, and his wife, Kathryn Rauscher, who died in 2006, will be held on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at the East Hampton Presbyterian Church.

    Following the service, their ashes will be interred at the Oak Grove Cemetery on Windmill Lane in Amagansett. A reception will follow at the American Legion Hall in Amagansett.

Arthur Byron Phillips

    Arthur Byron Phillips, a painter and sculptor who lived on Tyrone Drive in Springs for many years, died last Thursday at Stony Brook University Hospital of complications following a heart attack on Nov. 3. Mr. Phillips would have turned 81 on Dec. 1. He is survived by a niece, Jenny K. Mittelman of Atlanta, and a nephew, Willard P. Mittelman of Athens, Ga.

    A full obituary will appear in a future issue.

Connors Memorial

    A memorial for Sonja F. Connors, who had lived on Baiting Hollow Road in East Hampton, will be held at the East Hampton Presbyterian Church on Sunday at 2 p.m. Ms. Connors died on Feb. 25 at 69.