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Harry F. LaMonda

Harry F. LaMonda

June 20, 1926 - Sept. 10, 2015
By
Star Staff

Harry F. LaMonda, a dairy farmer at the old Dune Alpin Farm in East Hampton and a World War II Army veteran who served in Japan, died last Thursday at the Riverhead Care Center in Riverhead. He was 89, and had Parkinson’s disease.

Mr. LaMonda was born on a Vermont farm, and came to the East End to work for Abe Katz, the owner of Dune Alpin and another farm in Bridgehampton, where Mr. LaMonda first worked and lived.

A son of Wesley Stephens LaMonda, a dairy farmer, and the former Lois Jane Dewing, he was born in Sheldon, Vt., on June 20, 1926, and attended school through the eighth grade. He was married to the former Greta Arlene Lafoe, who predeceased him, and the couple, who lived first in Brownington, Vt., and then in Orleans, Vt., had seven children.

The family eventually settled in East Hampton. After Dune Alpin Farm was sold, Mr. LaMonda stopped  working, but, at around the age of 70, his daughter Diana Darrell of East Hampton said, he got bored and went to work as a handyman at McDonald’s restaurant in Southampton. He retired on his 80th birthday.

Mr. LaMonda was a member of the Everit Albert Herter Post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in East Hampton, to which memorial contributions may be sent. Its address is P.O. Box 5033, East Hampton 11937. Donations in his memory have also been suggested to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, P.O. Box 5014, Hagerstown, Md. 21741.

Besides Ms. Darrell, he is survived by three other daughters, Mary Lou Zuchelli of North Massapequa, Pamela LaMonda Jaffie of Hicksville, and Sherill Naster of Chandler, N.C., and by two sons, Harry LaMonda of Shirley and Leonard LaMonda of Middlebury, Vt. Fifteen grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren also survive. One of his children, Leslie LaMonda, died before him, as did his siblings.

A wake was held on Sunday at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. Mr. LaMonda’s ashes, and those of his wife, will be buried in Brownington Center.

For Deborah Light

For Deborah Light

By
Star Staff

A celebration of the life of Deborah Ann Light, formerly of Amagansett, East Hampton Village, and Sag Harbor, will be held at the Peconic Land Trust’s Quail Hill Farm orchard in Amagansett at 4 p.m. on Saturday. A reception will follow.

Ms. Light, a founding member of the land trust, died at the age of 80 on July 20 in Gainesville, Fla., after a long illness.

Gregg Denis de Waal, 57

Gregg Denis de Waal, 57

By
Star Staff

Gregg Denis de Waal died unexpectedly after collapsing at the Whalebone Market in Noyac on Sept. 3. He was 57 and his family said he had no record of illness and that his death came as a shock.

Although Mr. de Waal worked in a number of different fields over the years, his family said he was a true bayman, who owned two boats and worked seasonally as a commercial fisherman, fishing, clamming, and scalloping. He was a dog lover, they said, and was always to be found with man’s best friend at his side, whether while driving a truck or on a boat.

He was born at Southampton Hospital to the former Dolores De Venere and Victor de Waal, longtime East Hampton residents who owned a local shop called the Cheese Cupboard. He grew up on Jericho Road and graduated from East Hampton High School in 1980. He then graduated from the State University at Cobleskill, returning to live in East Hampton and eventually settling in Springs.

 He worked after college at Whitmore’s Garden Center in Amagansett, but soon branched out on his own, opening a landscaping company called the Golden Bough. He later worked for Schenck Fuels, for which, over 10 years, he was a driver and service technician. In the years since leaving Schenck, he worked independently as a plumbing, heating, and air-conditioning technician.

Mr. de Waal is survived by his mother, who lives in Palm City, Fla., and a sister, Wendi Pierce of Leesburg, Va. His father died in 2000 and a younger brother, Barry, died in 2012.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated for him on Oct. 3 at 9 a.m. at Most Holy Trinity Catholic Church in East Hampton. His ashes will be buried in a family plot in the church cemetery.

Earl Edmund Arrington Services Sunday

Earl Edmund Arrington Services Sunday

Visitation and a funeral service for Earl Edmund Arrington, a longtime Sag Harbor resident who died on Sept. 9, will be on Sunday at J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home at 179-24 Linden Boulevard in Jamaica, Queens. Visiting begins at 11 a.m., with the funeral to start at noon.

An obituary for Mr. Arrington, who was 82, will appear in a future issue.

 

Nancy Weintraub

Nancy Weintraub

By
Star Staff

Nancy S. Weintraub, who, along with her husband, Max Weintraub, was well known among East Hampton restaurant goers as one of the duo behind Cafe Max, died on Monday after a long illness. She was 65.

The couple met in January, 1974, and by the end of the year were married in East Hampton. In 1980, they took over the restaurant at the Maidstone Arms, an East Hampton inn, with Mr. Weintraub as chef and Mrs. Weintraub as hostess, publicist, and wine buyer.   Eventually, the Maidstone Arms was sold, and the new owner bought out Mr. Weintraub’s lease, according to an article in The East Hampton Star last year. It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as the couple launched Cafe Max, on the Montauk Highway in East Hampton.

Mrs. Weintraub’s wine palette was described as pitch perfect, and she put together wine lists and cellars recognized with awards from publications like The Wine Spectator, which recognized her many times. The restaurant has been operated in recent years by Sami Krasniqi, who had worked as a chef there with Mr. Weintraub.

Away from the job, Mrs. Weintraub was active  in the fight to stop animal abuse. She helped local shelters, particularly the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons, capture and spay feral cats, and started a campaign to disabuse potential owners of the superstitions surrounding black cats, which makes them least likely to be adopted, by setting up an annual Black Cat Campaign. Everyone that adopted a black cat received a Cafe Max gift card.

Her family said she also enjoyed her garden and bird-watching. But, most of all, she loved her husband, and the life they had chosen together. Speaking about the restaurant business, she told The East Hampton Star in 2013, “We never had children. This was our baby.”

Mrs. Weintraub was born in Chicago to Lily Ann and Robert Smith, although the family soon moved to Miami, where she grew up. She is survived by her husband and by a brother, Ed Martinez of New Haven, Conn.

Visiting hours are tomorrow at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m., and will be followed by a private burial.

Harvey M. Brown

Harvey M. Brown

May 28, 1943 - Aug. 21, 2015
By
Star Staff

Harvey M. Brown of Worcester, N.Y., who grew up in East Hampton and once worked at the Startop Ranch in Montauk, died on Aug. 21 at the Focus Rehabilitation and Nursing Center at Otsego in Cooperstown, N.Y. He was 72 and had pancreatic cancer.

Known for having a big heart and for his love of animals and gardening, Mr. Brown worked with goats, sheep, and horses and had a ranch in Montana for a time. Before he left the South Fork, he managed Startop, Dr. Leon Star’s breeding and training center for thoroughbreds, in the 1960s and 1970s.

Dr. Star’s daughter, Priscilla Star, remembered him as “a cowboy type” who took his work with animals seriously. “He was dedicated to taking care of the thoroughbreds and our breeding practices at Startop Ranch and helped us with ongoing maintenance there for a good 10 years or so.” She said her father appreciated his good horse skills and considered him a friend, not just a worker.

Born at Southampton Hospital on May 28, 1943, he was the only son of Howard Brown and the former Jessie McMonagle. He was raised on Church Street in East Hampton and attended the East Hampton schools, but after his parents divorced, he and his mother moved. For many years his father was the buildings and grounds superintendent at the Most Holy Trinity School and Catholic Church.

At Mr. Brown’s request, no services were held. His ashes were brought back to East Hampton and buried next to his mother’s at Cedar Lawn Cemetery. His father’s ashes were taken to a family plot at Most Holy Trinity Cemetery at the same time.

Mr. Brown had no children. He is survived by several cousins and also leaves behind a beloved dog named Sugar, who was adopted by a family friend.

Those wishing to make contributions in Mr. Brown’s name can do so to the Susquehanna Animal Shelter, 4891 State Highway 28, Cooperstown, N.Y. 13326.

Maryse Armin Wyatt

Maryse Armin Wyatt

Dec. 27, 1952 - Sept. 11, 2015
By
Star Staff

Maryse Armin Wyatt, who graduated from East Hampton High School in 1949 after having spent her childhood in Brooklyn, will be remembered by her family as a gentlewoman and collector of beautiful and useful things. She was 84 and died on Sept. 11 at home in Greenfield, Mass., after a year-long illness.

“Maryse was the number-one ingredient in my life. A nice girl, a gentle person, and she radiated a warm glow,” said her husband of 62 years, E. Vincent Wyatt Jr.

She was born on Dec. 27, 1952, to Harry C. Armin and the former Edith Kelly. Her family came to Amagansett after her father retired. Her future husband was also a student at East Hampton High School, but they did not begin dating until they were in college, he studying engineering at Cornell University and she dietary science at Alfred University, part of the State University of New York. They were married in December of 1952.

 The couple lived in different places as Mr. Wyatt’s career progressed in the industrial and mechanical engineering fields, among them Philadelphia, Woodridge and Rivervale, N.J., West Hartford, Conn., Saratoga, N.Y., and Ashfield, Mass. Mr. Wyatt is related to the East Hampton Grimshaw family, and they returned to East Hampton to visit their families from time to time. They settled in Greenfield in 1988 after the death of Mr. Wyatt’s father.

Mrs. Wyatt was an inveterate collector of such decorative objects as paperweights, shells, landscape paintings, Chinese artifacts, pewter, and china. Mr. Wyatt said his wife enjoyed estate sales and thrift store shopping, always hunting for the perfect find.

In addition to her husband, Mrs. Wyatt is survived by three children, Peter Wyatt of Newburyport, Mass., John Wyatt of Hartford, Conn., and Susan Peterson of Hampden, N.J., and two grandchildren. A graveside service was held before burial on Sept. 16 at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in East Hampton.

Earl Edmund Arrington

Earl Edmund Arrington

May 25, 1933 - Sept. 9, 2015
By
Star Staff

For many years, Earl Edmund Arrington and his wife, Virginia, could be seen on the South Fork benefit scene, supporting organizations such as the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation, the Paul Robeson Centennial Fund, and Evidence, a Dance Company. It was part of his dedication to helping the communities he lived in, as well as their youth. According to his family, he was fond of saying, “If you can do something, anything, to help somebody, do it.”

Mr. Arrington, a successful real estate broker for over half a century, died on Sept. 9 at home in Sag Harbor. He was 82 and had Parkinson’s disease for the past 15 years.

He was “a gentle man who lived life with enthusiasm, graciousness, and compassion for others,” his family said. “He was a legend of his own. During the last weeks and days of his life, he never complained, and his amazing sense of humor continued to be strong even with his limited ability to communicate.”

He was born on May 25, 1933, in Brooklyn to Gladys Jackson Arrington and Reginald Arrington Sr. From 1953 to 1955, he served in the Army in the Korean War and was honorably discharged. He and Virginia Arrington were married in 1960, and they had two children, Angelique Arrington Johnson and Michelle Arrington Walter.

Throughout his life, Mr. Arrington served on numerous boards and participated in a variety of social organizations, such as the Englewood Social Club, the Comus Club, and the Guardsmen. His family said he cherished the friendships he made there. Locally, he had been active in the Sag Harbor Initiative.

He is survived by his wife, his daughters, and a granddaughter, along with a number of cousins, nieces, and nephews. A service was held on Sunday at the J. Foster Phillips Funeral Home in Jamaica, Queens.

The family has suggested several organizations of meaning to Mr. Arrington for memorial contributions, including the Sag Harbor Volunteer Ambulance Corps, P.O. Box 2725, Sag Harbor 11963, the National CARES Mentoring Movement, 5 Penn Plaza, 15th Floor, New York City 10001, Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York, 186 Joralemon Street, Brooklyn 11201-4326, and the Fresh Air Fund, 633 Third Avenue, 14th Floor, New York City 10017.

Michael Flinn, 74

Michael Flinn, 74

June 15, 1941 - Aug. 1, 2015
By
Star Staff

Michael de Vlaming Flinn, a lawyer and former member of the Connecticut House of Representatives who grew up on Lily Pond Lane in East Hampton, died on Aug. 1 at his house in Greenwich, Conn. He was 74 and had been ill with colon cancer for 15 months.

“He loved his work,” said his wife, Ann Hanes Flinn of Greenwich and Delray Beach, Fla., whom he married on Valentine’s Day in 1993. “He loved working in finance, he loved his community work and his service with the 149th District.”

The youngest of three boys, Mr. Flinn was born on June 15, 1941, in Durham, N.C., to Lawrence Flinn and the former Marion de Vlaming. His father, who was affiliated with Duke University, was an Army officer during World War II. He was killed in action at the Battle of the Bulge.

He attended Aiken Preparatory School in Aiken, S.C., and the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Conn., before graduating from Yale, magna cum laude, in 1962. He earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1965.

Mr. Flinn served as a captain in military intelligence, stationed at Fort Benning in Georgia, Fort Holabird in Maryland, and at the Pentagon. “I think he was very proud” of his military service, said his wife. “And he was echoing his father’s career, dedication, and service.”

His legal career began at White & Case in Manhattan. From 1970 to 1996 he was a limited partner at the investment management firm Ingalls and Snyder, and later joined the investment company Spears, Benzak, Salomon, and Farrell. Most recently, he was a managing director at Tocqueville Asset Management, all in Manhattan.

He was elected to Connecticut’s House of Representatives in 1982 and served two terms. His directorships were many, among them the Coldwater Conservation Fund, Greenwood Cemetery, and the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, which he served for 15 years.

“I think his greatest sporting passion was court tennis,” his wife said, noting that he won one of his first tournaments on the grass courts at the Maidstone Club at age 9. “He was also a low-handicap golfer. He belonged to many clubs, and played golf everywhere up and down the Eastern Seaboard and abroad.” He was also an excellent fisherman, she said. “He pursued all of these things with a great deal of skill and passion, and shared his love of those things with all his children. He taught them how to do all those things, and they’re all good at them.”

He was also “very learned about art, music, poetry, gardens,” she said. “He loved to travel — he was an excellent travel planner.”

Mr. Flinn’s first marriage, to Elizabeth Foulke, ended in divorce. In addition to his wife, he leaves three sons, William, Michael Jr., and Theodore, all of Greenwich, and a daughter, Randall, of Brooklyn. Two stepchildren, Allison Ryan of Pound Ridge, N.Y., and Jonathan Hanes of Old Greenwich, Conn., also survive, as do 12 grandchildren and a brother, Lawrence Flinn Jr. of East Hampton. His other brother, George, died last year.

Funeral services were held on Aug. 7 at Round Hill Community Church in Greenwich, the Rev. Dr. Edward Horstmann officiating. Mr. Flinn was buried in Cedar Lawn Cemetery in East Hampton, near his father.

The family has suggested memorial contributions to the Everglades Foundation, which works to restore clean water to the Florida Everglades and surrounding estuaries, at 18001 Old Cutler Road, Suite 625, Palmetto Bay, Fla. 33157, or evergladesfoundation.org.

William Becker

William Becker

May 23, 1927 - Sept. 12, 2015
By
Star Staff

William Becker, whose vision and financial savvy helped bring modern European film to American audiences, died of kidney failure at his house in Southampton on Saturday. He was 88.

In some five decades of involvement with Janus Films and the Criterion Collection, Mr. Becker contributed to the expansion of audiences and catalogs of what have become classic art house and foreign film titles, steadily adding new selections as the years went by.

He and a partner bought Janus, which had been successful in bringing films by Federico Fellini and Ingmar Bergman to America but had fallen on hard times, in 1965, and continued its commitment to such avant-garde directors as Akira Kurosawa, Francois Truffaut, Luis Bunuel, Michelangelo Antonioni, and Jean Renoir. Criterion began in 1984 and was merged with another company to form a partnership with Janus. Criterion went on to release classic movies, both early and later ones, developing the “special edition” DVD with commentary and other enhancements.

Arthur William John Becker III was born in St. Louis on May 23, 1927, to Arthur Becker Jr. and the former Margaret Heath. He grew up and attended school in St. Louis and enrolled at Washington University there when he was 15, but transferred to Duke University and finally to Harvard, where he graduated. After naval service in Guam during the war, he was named a Rhodes Scholar, and wrote his dissertation at Oxford on the poet William Butler Yeats.

In addition to steering Janus to success and profitability through distribution to colleges, sales of rights to television, and, with his sons and his business partners, through video and DVD licensing, he was a writer, critic, and actor. His friends and family also described him as a lover of travel, particularly to Europe; a dedicated genealogist and gardener, and a great thinker, citing his aesthetic sensibilities and business acumen as key factors in his success. In a written remembrance, his friend Peter Cowie said he “adored the recondite and the arcane.”

In an email, his daughter, Alison Price Becker of New York City, wrote that the family started coming to the South Fork in the early 1960s, following George Plimpton and other friends. She remembered her father stopping one night on the way to Southampton to see, beyond barriers, the progress of the still-uncompleted Long Island Expressway. At their first house on Meadow Lane, he would hold movie parties and screen reel-to-reel movies from the Janus collection, films by Truffaut, Bergman, and Jean Renoir. At their second house in Southampton Village, Mr. Becker became an avid gardener and planned all the landscaping himself, his daughter said.

Mr. Becker is also survived by his wife, Patricia Birch Becker of New York and Southampton, and two sons, Jonathan Heath Becker of Manhattan and Peter Heath Becker of Brooklyn. He also leaves a sister, Jane Daniel of St. Louis.

The family plans a celebration of his life in New York City in October.