Albert James Catozzi of Springs, a longtime clerk at the East Hampton Post Office, died on July 8 of complications of multiple myeloma at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. He was 71.
After spending 37 years with the postal service, he worked as a custodian at Pierson High School in Sag Harbor before retiring in 2010.
He was a member of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton, where he served on the vestry and the outreach committee. The spaghetti and meatballs he made for the church’s fund-raising dinners were always a crowd favorite, his family said.
He was commander of American Legion Post 419 in Amagansett from 1979 to 1982 and a member of the Maidstone Gun Club and the Disabled American Veterans organization.
He enjoyed fishing, cooking, and searching for coins on the beach with a metal detector.
Born on Feb. 14, 1948, in Brooklyn to Albert P. Catozzi and the former Thelma J. Thornton, he graduated from New Utrecht High School in the borough, and then served for six years in the Coast Guard.
In 1970, he married Dianna Lester, whose family owns Round Swamp Farm in East Hampton.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by two daughters, Christine Hawkins of East Hampton and Jeanne Maya of Hampton Bays. A brother, Keith Catozzi of Manalapan, N.J., three grandchildren, and a great-grandson also survive. Another brother, Paul Catozzi, died before him.
Mr. Catozzi was cremated. The Very Rev. Denis C. Brunelle officiated at a graveside service on Friday at the family’s Round Swamp Cemetery on Three Mile Harbor Road.