Obituaries

Paid Notice: The Eleanor Whitmore Early Childhood Center mourns the loss of Judith Schneider, a cherished member of our board of directors.

Mary Heilmann, who achieved wide acclaim as an artist, never lived far from water.

Paid Notice: Merle Froschl, a resident of Manhattan and Amagansett, died in her sleep on January 19th. She was 87.

Terrence Nelson, an owner of A Little of What You Fancy and Second Nature Market on Newtown Lane, died of cancer on Aug. 7 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 88.

Tom Desmond, who owned and ran the Embassy Market, a Latin grocery and deli in Montauk, for over a decade, died on Aug. 9 of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Paid Notice: It is with heavy hearts that we share the passing of Betty Lou King, a loving mother, grandmother, great grandmother, sister, and friend, who died peacefully, surrounded by family, on July 31, 2026. 

Paid Notice: Nancy Dubin, of New York City and Bridgehampton, New York, passed away on August 3, 2026, at the age of 80, after a brave struggle with cancer. Nancy was an intriguing, self-made woman whose life was marked by long friendships, curiosity, creativity and adventure.

Paid Notice: Harold “Herb” Herbert, age 89 of Montauk, passed away on August 9, after a brief illness. Family and friends are invited to pay their respects on Friday, August 14, 2026, from 2 – 4 p.m. and 6 – 9 p.m., with a Firematic Service at 7 p.m., at Yardley and Pino Funeral Home, 94 Pantigo Road, East Hampton.

A celebration of the life of Jean Lindgren will be held at Long Beach in Noyac Thursday from 6 to 8, open to all. Ms. Lindgren, who lived in Sagaponack, died on May 27 at the age of 85. 

Friends of Jerry P. Keeler will gather to celebrate his life on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at St. Peter’s Chapel in Springs. The chapel is at 465 Old Stone Highway, near the intersection with Neck Path. People have been invited to “stay for supper while sharing memories and stories of a kind and caring man with the gift of gab.” 

Paid Notice: Catherine DeSanti, 80, of Manakin-Sabot, Va., and East Hampton passed away peacefully on July 10, 2026, after a brave fight against pancreatic cancer, surrounded by her loved ones.  

Paid Notice: Loran Hiltz, 74, of Lazy Point in Amagansett, sadly passed away on July 15, 2025, after living with stroke-related complications for ten years.

A celebration of life for Sean Murphy will be held on Saturday from 1 to 3:30 p.m. at Salivar's Clam and Chowder House in Montauk. 

A celebration of life for Kathleen Burns will be held on Friday, Aug. 14, at noon at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton.

A celebration of the life of Michael O’Rourke, of the Amagansett Seafood Store, will take place on Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. at the Meeting House restaurant in Amagansett Square.

“A model in Paris, a secretary in Belgium, a columnist and candidate in Brooklyn, and the long-serving, unofficial mayor of Amagansett,” The Star wrote of Joan Tulp on the occasion of her 90th birthday, in August 2019. 

Paid Notice: The sun set on John Buchbinder on July 23, 2026. In his 73 short years, he lived a very full life.

John M. Marshall, who taught at the Springs School for 31 years, died at home in East Hampton on July 11 after a brief illness. He was 79.

Patrick Joseph Shaw of East Hampton, a carpenter and woodworker, died on July 21 at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital at the age of 66. A service will be held on Aug. 9 at noon at the Navy Road pier in Montauk.

Paid Notice: Ray (Raymond) Smith, an extraordinary arborist, horticulturist, outdoorsman, and devoted steward of the natural world, passed away peacefully on July 24, 2026, at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care, with his wife, Amy, by his side.

Paid Notice: Ralph Stout, a painter and photographer living in Greenport, died at home with his family on Monday, July 20th.

Jane Lucy Otto, who began spending summers and weekends at her family’s house on Sammy’s Beach Road in East Hampton many years ago, died on April 28 in Utah. She was 85 and had dementia.

Paid Notice: Frances Ziemniak passed away on June 10, 2026, from complications associated with Lewy body dementia. She was 75 years old.

Paid Notice: Madeleine Sara Cammarata of Los Angeles and Sag Harbor died of complications due to a stroke at her home in Los Angeles on Nov. 11, 2020. She was 40.

Brian Pope, former history teacher in the Rocky Point School District and gadfly in The Star’s letters pages, died at home in Montauk on June 17. He was 76.

Jorge Tito Kusanovic of Montauk, a parks and recreation leader for East Hampton Town for 29 years, died in Stony Brook on June 18. He was 81 and had cancer. 

Andrew Adler of Roslyn and East Hampton, an entrepreneur who founded his own royalty accounting firm, died on June 14 of leiomyosarcoma. He was 59.

Brian A. Pope died at home in Montauk on June 17 at the age of 76. There will be a private burial in Montauk and a celebration of his life at a later date.

Courtney Sale Ross, an art curator, documentary filmmaker, and co-founder of the Ross School, died on June 1 in Malibu, Calif., at the age of 78.

The family of Jorge T. Kusanovic of Montauk, who died on June 18, will receive visitors on June 25 from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton.