A master carpenter and furniture maker, William Clifford Vail of Indian Hill Road in East Hampton died Friday at Stony Brook University Medical Center. He was 59. According to his longtime partner, Bobbi Lee Sayler, the cause of death was leukemia, which resulted from lengthy chemotherapy and radiation treatments for Hodgkin’s disease.

    Mr. Vail was enthusiastic about his work and “was so proud that he brought pictures home to show everyone,” Ms. Sayler said. He worked for Reich/ Ekland Construction of Shelter Island for about 20 years. On the job and at home, Mr. Vail was known as a man who liked to talk. “He was a conversationalist,” Ms. Sayler said.

    He was also a great reader, especially interested in American history, and always had a dog “or three,” usually mutts rescued from a pound, Ms. Sayler said. He treated them as if they were his children, she said. He found time, too, to go clamming and picking mussels in the bay. He valued his sobriety, Ms. Sayler said, having abstained “for 26 years through the grace of God and Alcoholics Anonymous.”

    Mr. Vail was born on March 29, 1952, at Southampton Hospital to William C. Vail and the former Dolores Darnell. The Vail family has long ties to East Hampton, though he grew up in Southampton Town and went to Westhampton Beach High School.

    After graduating from high school with a Regents scholarship in 1971, he went to the State University at Delhi, from which he obtained a degree in agriculture. After college, he lived briefly in Colorado before returning to Long Island in 1978.

    He is survived by his sisters, Elizabeth H. Gallaer of Medford and Mary A Paparella of Princeton, N.J., as well as his stepfather, Edward H. Conklin, formerly of East Hampton, who now lives in Maine, a niece, two nephews, and a great-nephew. His parents died before him.

     A memorial for Mr. Vail has been set for April 16 at 10 a.m. at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Patchogue and at 11 a.m. on May 7 at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Amagansett, with lunch to follow. Mr. Vail was cremated, and his ashes are to be spread at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in East Hampton.

    Ms. Sayler suggested that donations could be made in Mr. Vail’s honor to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, Box 4072, Pittsfield, Mass. 01202, or to the American Heart Association, Box 417005, Boston, Mass. 02241-7005.

    A heart that Lawrence Wesley Miller III carved into a tree at Albert’s Landing is an enduring memento of his love of his wife. He carved it and the pair’s initials back in 1983, three years after their marriage, and it remains today.

    Mr. Miller died of pneumonia on March 11 at Southampton Hospital. He was 54.

    An 11th-generation Bonacker and Amagansett resident, Mr. Miller, who was known as Butch, spent much of his time at Accabonac Creek, or “Bonac Crick.”

    His family said Mr. Miller “put his heart into everything he did.” He enjoyed the arts — painting, writing, and music — and worked as a house painter, carpenter, and mechanic.

    In addition to his creative endeavors, Mr. Miller was devoted to his family. He married the former Vonda K. Lester in 1980 and the couple had four children. They were his “top priority,” his family said. Last summer he and his wife celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary with a renewal of their vows.

    Mr. Miller was born to Lawrence Wesley Miller Jr. and Ellen Bennett Miller on Aug. 7, 1956, at Southampton Hospital. He grew up in Springs and attended the Springs School and East Hampton High School.

    He is survived by his wife and four children: Derek J. Miller, Cregg A. Miller, and Alexandra R. Miller, all of Springs, and Joshua Lawrence William Miller, 14, of Amagansett. Three sisters, Vanessa Bock of East Hampton, Deborah Follenius of South Carolina, and Frances Silipo of Springs, also survive.

    Funeral services were held at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton on March 14 and at the Amagansett Presbyterian Church the next day with the Rev. Steven E. Howarth officiating. A private burial followed.

    Memorial donations have been suggested to the Joshua Miller Trust Fund in care of Suffolk County National Bank, 351 Pantigo Road, East Hampton 11937, or P.O. Box 446, Amagansett 11930.

    Visiting hours will be held tomorrow from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton for Dianna Lee Kane, a lifelong East End resident who died at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset on March 28 following a long illness. She was 61.

    Born on Feb. 2, 1950, in Southampton to Hester Lelia Hayes-Graham and Richard Lee Hartwell, Ms. Kane graduated from the East Hampton schools and studied at cosmetology and business schools on Long Island.

    Over the years she had been an administrative assistant, seamstress, hair stylist, and home and office cleaner, working briefly at The East Hampton Star and then becoming housekeeper and personal assistant for Tinka and the late Bud Topping in Sagaponack, a post she held for 25 years. According to her family, “She considered the Topping family her very own.”

    Ms. Kane was called alternately Di, Diola, and Di-Di. Her children said she was known for “her skillful manner for telling it like it is.” She was an active member of the Calvary Baptist Church in East Hampton, and a funeral service will be held for her there at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Ms. Kane, who loved music, sang in its choir.

    She also enjoyed cooking with her children, and going to the beach. Before her illness, Ms. Kane could often be seen on the front lawn of her house on Morris Park Lane working out to Jane Fonda. She also was known for her sewing talent and had made several wedding dresses.

    Ms. Kane is survived by four children, Jolyn Renee Hopson of Arlington, Va., Sharmon Lynn Hopson-Allen of Brentwood, Deven Kane of West Islip, and Lorenzo Lee Smith, also of Brentwood.  A sister, Marion Hayes-Bruno of Patchogue, also survives.

    Her parents died before her, as did a son, Melville Douglas Hopson Jr., a brother, Gregory Graham, and her ex-husbands, Melvin Hopson and Jack (John) Kane. Six grandchildren and one great-grandchild also survive, as do nieces and nephews, other members of her large, extended family, and her confidante, Charlene Walker of Bridgehampton.

    “Dianna was a fighter in every sense of the word,” her children wrote. “She fought to overcome many obstacles throughout her life. She fought for what she believed in, she fought for her children, grandchildren, and family members, and she fought for her life until the very end. . . .”

    James M. Struble, a carpenter and master craftsman who lived in East Hampton for the past 25 years, died here on March 28. He was 44.

    Mr. Struble was a member of an antique car club and volunteered at soup kitchens.

    Born on April 25, 1966, in Massapequa to Walter F. Struble and the former Gertrude Nestor, he attended Amityville Memorial High School.

    Mr. Struble is survived by five sisters, Mary Marks of Morehead City, N.C., Catherine Bird of Lindenhurst, Anne Struble of East Hampton, Patricia Hankinson of Aspen, Colo., and Carol Struble of New Paltz, N.Y. Three brothers, Christopher Struble of Bay Shore, William Struble of Oakdale, and Walter Struble of East Hampton, also survive.

    A service for Mr. Struble, who died of an alcohol-related illness, was held on Friday at Della Femina restaurant in East Hampton.

    Queen Davis-Parks, who touched the lives of many East Hamptoners as a teacher at the John M. Marshall Elementary School and as a devoted member of Calvary Baptist Church, died at home surrounded by family on April 6. She was 63 and had cancer.

    Born on July 11, 1947, at Southampton Hospital, Ms. Davis-Parks was the daughter of Girlie Lee Hayes and the former Jenny Hill of East Hampton, the 12th among their 13 children. She was named Queen Elizabeth Hayes because the famous ocean liner arrived in New York when she was born, and the street she lived on in East Hampton, Queen’s Lane, was named for her by her father, a master carpenter.

    Ms. Davis-Parks attended East Hampton schools. She began her teaching career as an aide at the East Hampton Day Care Center, then received a bachelor’s degree from Southampton College in elementary education cum laude. She went on to be awarded a master’s degree in science. She went into teaching as a divorced, single mother of two.

    She and Leon Parks were married on Valentine’s Day in 1983 and became the parents of two additional children. Like his wife, Mr. Parks had a long career in the schools here, as a social studies teacher and assistant principal at East Hampton High School.

    “. . . What drove Queen the most [was] her love for her husband, four children, and four grandchildren,” her family wrote. “Her door was always open” for the many children of relatives and friends “when the need arose,” they added.

    Neil O’Connell, a former principal of John Marshall, recalled being new to the district and excited at the prospect of Ms. Davis-Parks becoming a third-grade teacher. “My own son was in her class,” he said, “and had a great year.” In her 27-year tenure at John Marshall, she was among the first to include multicultural studies. She also was cited for her innovative and inspiring teaching style.

    In a biography written for the press, her family wrote: “One week her students were allowed to open their own restaurant. In so doing, they learned the math involved in fixing prices for the meals, the science in creating a recipe that is both delicious and wholesome, and the grammar and art necessary to create an appealing menu. The next week, they were runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad, using historic clues to navigate and astronomy to search for the North Star. . . .”

    Spreading knowledge also was a focus of her work at Calvary Baptist Church. She not only raised money for the Sunday school, but was costume designer for a number of youth productions. To celebrate Black History Month, she developed and produced a full-length film, “Cry for Freedom,” in which community as well as church members had roles.

    Her love of the church was notable even as a child, the Rev. Dr. Connie Jones of Calvary Baptist said. “Nothing would keep her from Sunday school,” even though she was the youngest of their group of friends. As an adult, she helped the church “when things weren’t going right,” Ms. Jones said. She noted that Ms. Davis-Parks was a soprano soloist and member of the church’s combined choir, whose favorite song was “God Specializes.” She also was a church trustee and had been chairwoman of its culinary department and its 50th anniversary banquet.

    In addition to her husband, Ms. Davis-Parks is survived by three daughters, Aleta Williams of Washington, D.C., and Amy Parker and Tiffany F. Parks of East Hampton, and one son, Gregory Parks of Washington, D.C. Makesha Joyner of Washington, D.C., who lived with the Davis-Parks family for many years and was considered a daughter, also survives, as do two brothers who were Tuskegee Airmen, Lee Hayes of East Hampton and Robert Hayes of Pensacola, Fla., her sisters, Helen Hillman of East Hampton and Eleanor Williams of New York City, four grandchildren, and, among many nieces and nephews, a niece whom she thought of as a sister, Rita Barnard of East Hampton. She was predeceased by her parents and eight siblings: Willie Hayes, James Hayes, Glenn Hayes, and George Hayes, and Hester Hayes-Graham, Evelyn Carter, Jenny Jones, and Dixie Jayne Casiel.

    A wake will be held at Calvary Baptist Church from 4 to 7 p.m. tomorrow, with the funeral there on Saturday at 1 p.m. Burial will be at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in East Hampton. The family has said they would prefer donations to the Queen Davis-Parks Scholarship Fund, which is being established in her honor, rather than flowers. They may be sent to Suffolk County National Bank, 351 Pantigo Road, East Hampton, in care of Sarah Almeraz.

    In learning of Ms. Davis-Parks’s death, the Right Rev. Michael Weeder, a family friend who is soon to become the archbishop of St. George’s Cathedral in Cape Town, South Africa, wrote to the family. “Your reflections on the life of your mother speak to a harvest of values and her impact on the lives of your family and the many you mention. What a qualitatively rich life.”     H.S.R.

   Howie Jablow, who had served as Southampton Hospital’s director of respiratory therapy since 1978, died last Thursday at Stony Brook University Medical Center after a short illness. A resident of Water Mill, Mr. Jablow was 59 years old.

    In addition to his position at the hospital, which he “so enjoyed and put his heart and soul into,” his family said, Mr. Jablow enjoyed sharing his knowledge through educational programs for students and with several skilled nursing facilities in the area. He was a founder of the Long Island Respiratory Care Managers Association, a trustee for the Water Mill Community Club, and a member of the Long Island East Ski Club.

    Mr. Jablow was born on Sept. 17, 1951, to Florence and Milton Jablow. He was raised in New Hyde Park and graduated from St. Joseph’s College, receiving his M.B.A. from Dowling College.

    According to his family, Mr. Jablow had a great curiosity for all things, and even built his own house with help from how-to books and his friends and family.

    Family was a priority for him. Aside from his wife, Pat, Mr. Jablow is survived by his three daughters, Janine Jablow Balnis of Springs, Caitlin Jablow of Westhampton, and Brianne Jablow of Arizona. He also is survived by his mother, his brother, Scott Jablow of Arizona, and many nieces and nephews, and had been anxiously awaiting the birth of his first grandchild at the end of the month.

    A service was held on Sunday at the Brockett Funeral Home in Southampton. Rabbi Jan Uhrbach of the Conservative Synagogue of the Hamptons presided.

    The family has suggested memorial contributions to the Southampton Hospital Foundation, 240 Meeting House Lane, Southampton 11968-5090, the Dominican Sisters Family Health Service, 103-6 West Montauk Highway, Hampton Bays 11946, the Water Mill Community Club, P.O. Box 182, Water Mill 11976, or the Conservative Synagogue of the Hamptons, P.O. Box 1800, East Hampton 11937.

    Matthew Norklun first publicly stepped into the whole dogs-on-beaches mess when, on Sept. 3, 2008, he left a bag of dog feces — duly labeled with the date and name of the beach where it had been collected — on the steps of East Hampton Village Hall. He was found guilty of littering, and fined $500.

    “I’m just trying to help out,” he said in an interview with The Star this week, when asked to explain the four phone calls he has made since May 8 to the East Hampton Village Police Department, to report dogs running wild on Georgica Beach.

    As of the second Sunday of May, the ordinance banning dogs and vehicles from the beach between the hours of 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. is in full effect.

    For the past 20 years, Mr. Norklun, an actor and successful magazine and advertising model (and onetime lifeguard) who lives in East Hampton, has tried to do his part to help rid village beaches of animal waste. “You’re barefoot, you’re walking in urine, you’re walking in feces, why is that acceptable?” he asked.

    His usual tactic is to approach people on the beach who have not cleaned up after their dogs, and politely ask them to do so. Sometimes this works, he said, sometimes it does not.

     Frustrated with a problem that just hasn’t gone away, Mr. Norklun has gotten into the habit of calling in the cavalry. “When the police write a ticket, it has more impact than someone asking you to not do it,” he said.

    Police responded to two of Mr. Norklun’s recent complaints by informing dog owners of the ordinance; in the other two cases, the dogs were gone by the time they arrived.

    According to Chief Gerald Lar­sen, Mr. Norklun’s are the only complaints to have come forward thus far this season.

    “We don’t have officers patrolling the beach full time yet,” said Chief Larsen.

    With summer looming, Mr. Norklun and the police expect violations to pile up in the weeks ahead. “All the signs may not be in place at this point, but we’re gearing up, and everything will be in place by Memorial Day,” said Chief Larsen.

    In the meantime, Mr. Norklun is staunch in his efforts to rein in the dogs. “I saw a dog kill a seal one day,” he said. “I’ve been attacked. I’ve become the dog Nazi. Now people know me. I stopped one woman on the beach with her dog, and she said, ‘Oh, you’re that guy.’ ”   

    Despite the lone-ranger reputation he may have earned in some dog-walker circles, Mr. Norklun has behind-the-scenes emotional and financial support. His littering fine was paid for by admirers from Florida to East Hampton, he said. “Almost everyone who contributed said, ‘Look, don’t use my name.’ ”

    Mr. Norklun had his own explanation for why his supporters might be reticent: “Dealing with the village board is like dealing with Tony Soprano,” he said. “You ruffle some feathers, and you’re not going to get a building permit or anything that is discretionary to the village board.”

    While Mr. Norklun admits many people do not agree with his methods, he claims that there are a greater number who appreciate his efforts, and who have thanked him for taking action that they haven’t had the nerve to take themselves.

    “Nobody wants to deal with it. I do go to the beach every day, so I care about it. It’s time to stop being polite. The dogs certainly are not.”

    An Amagansett man escaped with injuries that were not life-threatening after a Friday crash on the Napeague stretch of the Montauk Highway in which his truck flipped on its side.

    East Hampton Town police reported that the injured man, Gustavo Torres, the superintendent of the Windward Shores Ocean Resort on Napeague, told them a man driving a tan Toyota Tundra pickup passed him in a no-passing zone, then suddenly slammed on the brakes. According to Mr. Torres, he was forced to choose between veering toward Cyril’s Fish House, which was crowded with its usual roadside bar patrons, or the right shoulder.

    On Monday and again Wednesday, during conversations with The East Hampton Star, Mr. Torres described his injuries as moderate, and he said pain was preventing him from resuming work. He said that his breathing had been difficult since the accident, which sent him to the emergency room at Southampton Hospital.

    Mr. Torres said that his 1995 Mitsubishi Montero had rolled onto the driver’s side when its wheels left the paved shoulder and reached roadside grass. He was pulled from the vehicle’s passenger-side door by a man who arrived moments later.

    He described what happened in a Monday conversation: “After my job, I was going to the Montauk I.G.A. I got to the highway. There was not traffic. I pulled out and was going 45, 50 miles per hour. I was in no rush.”

    Going on, Mr. Torres said he had seen the pickup “come up fast.” He alleged that the driver “tried to hit me in back. He came too close a couple of times. I thought he was drunk or something.”

    “I put my blinker on to the right to let him pass. He passed me and stopped completely. I saw his brake lights. I tried to avoid a collision. I pushed my brakes. I saw the smoke coming out of my tires. I was going side to side. I thought I was going to die.”

    Police reported that the man who Mr. Torres alleged caused the accident turned out to be Mark E. Dombrowski, 55, of Montauk. They ticketed him with passing in a no-passing zone, a traffic violation. East Hampton Town Police Detective Lt. Chris Anderson said yesterday that police were continuing to look into the matter.

    Detective Anderson said that in giving police a statement at the scene of the accident, Mr. Torres had not mentioned his belief that he was intentionally cut off by Mr. Dombrowski. Mr. Torres said police had spoken with him again this week.

    Mr. Dombrowski, a retired New York City firefighter, had been charged in 2005 — and then cleared — of third-degree assault as a hate crime, a felony, following a roadside struggle after he allegedly forced a Latino man, Luis Ochoa, also of Montauk off the road. Had Mr. Dombrowski been convicted he could have faced a maximum four-year jail term.

    The charges were dropped, however, when Mr. Ochoa’s injuries were deemed insufficient for the assault charge by the Suffolk district attorney’s office. Conviction would have required a sustained physical injury, which had not occurred. It was reported in news accounts from the time that in advance of his court appearance, Mr. Dombrowski, of his own accord, attended anger management sessions and an anti-bias class.

    Mr. Dombrowski referred requests for comment to his lawyer, Gordon Ryan of Amagansett, who had no comment.

    Rightly or wrongly, Mr. Torres believes malice was to blame, and said he has retained legal counsel.

    Mr. Torres said that it was his opinion that “When somebody does something like that, he’s trying to kill somebody. I have plenty of years driving, trust me.”

    Mr. Torres said he was a safe driver and said he was happy living on the South Fork.

    “I really enjoy the area. I clean the beach in front of the resort. I call in when I see seals that need help on the beach. I really love this area. I have a 10-year-old daughter. Thank God she was with her mother at that time.”

The East Hampton Town Police Department has said that the human remains found on a Gardiner's Bay beach Sunday were, according to the Suffolk medical examiner, those of a 20-to-30-year-old man of unknown ethnic background.

In a release to the media Tuesday morning, authorized by East Hampton Chief Ed Ecker, police said that the autopsy, completed Monday, had determined that the man had been small in stature, and that there were no obvious signs of trauma. Chief Ecker confirmed reports that the body was found without a head.

A local resident walking his dogs found the body at about noon Sunday in the surf line between Big Albert's Landing Beach and the Bell Estate. An East Hampton Town Marine Bureau officer was the first on the scene; he confirmed that the body was human. The town police dive team was called in to search the surrounding area. After an investigation on the beach, the body was taken to the Suffolk Medical Examiner's office in Hauppauge.

East Hampton Town police are continuing their investigation, in conjunction with the medical examiner's office and Suffolk police. Police have asked that anyone with information about missing persons in the area phone the town detective division at 631-537-7575.

    The Emergency Communications Department of East Hampton Village put out a press release and began a brochure campaign this week to alert the public that when calling 911 for help, providing certain details can prove critical: the name of the cross street, and as specific an address as possible.

    The department answers 911 calls from Montauk Point to Bridgehampton. As the release pointed out, “there are six separate fire and ambulance departments and three police departments” in that coverage area.

    The call for greater public awareness of how the 911 system works comes in the context of the death of Lanny Ross, a former Amagansett fire chief, in November. He had a heart attack, and his wife, Sherri, called 911 and gave her exact address, 419 Montauk Highway in Wainscott; dispatchers; however, routed emergency personnel to a duplicate street address in East Hampton. It was not until 13 minutes after her initial call that help arrived.

    In that case, the address information provided was indeed quite precise, though the tape of the 911 call reveals that it was not until dispatchers asked Ms. Ross for a cross street that they realized their mistake. Mr. Ross was pronounced dead at the hospital. Sherri and Lanny Ross’s estate has filed a notice of claim against East Hampton Village and the various departments and entities (including the village police) involved in the incident, leaving open a window of opportunity to sue for damages.

    The village’s press release also assured readers that, “Help is being sent while we are on the phone with you; answering our questions will not delay help!”

    A spokesperson for the Village Emergency Communications Department, reached by phone yesterday, said no particular incident inspired the public-relations push, and insisted this was simply an education campaign conducted in light of the massive annual influx of out-of-towners that will commence in earnest this week and accelerate over the summer.