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Lee Levy, 91

Lee Levy, 91

By
Star Staff

Lee Hillard Levy of East Hampton died at Southampton Hospital on July 22 after a brief illness, at the age of 91. His spouse and partner of nearly 40 years, Charles Millevoi, his two sons, Mark and Jeff Levy of California, and three of his four grandchildren were at his side.

Mr. Levy was a fashion designer and business owner whose designs for men’s and women’s outerwear were manufactured under the label Lee Levy Designs toward the end of his career.

Born and raised in Brooklyn, Mr. Levy graduated from James Madison High School. He first apprenticed with an uncle in the fur industry before going out on his own.

In 1942, he married the former May Schneider. They were together for 30 years before divorcing, after which he met and fell in love with Mr. Millevoi. After 37 years together, the law allowed them to marry. Friends drove them to Connecticut (this was before New York’s law changed), and they were married on Oct. 27, 2011, the anniversary of their first date. Mr. Levy was 89 and Mr. Millevoi was 85.

Long before, in 1975, the couple bought a house in Springs and commuted from Manhattan for several years while becoming active members of the East Hampton and Amagansett communities. Mr. Levy, who enjoyed painting and drawing, joined the East Hampton Art Alliance. After 12 years in Springs, they moved to Cranberry Hole Road in Amagansett, but sold that house after another 12 years and moved to Holly Place in East Hampton, their home since 2000.

Both Mr. Levy and Mr. Millevoi loved to travel. They visited many countries in Europe, South America, and Asia, and much enjoyed a trip to Reykjavik, Iceland, where Mr. Levy’s grandson Gabriel was married in 2005. They also shared a passionate interest in opera and theater.

Although he grew less mobile in recent years, Mr. Levy remained social, sharing dinners, taking in the HD Metropolitan Opera performances at Guild Hall in East Hampton and movies at the Sag Harbor Cinema, and playing dominoes at home. He also continued to volunteer one day each week at The Retreat thrift store in Bridgehampton, which raises money for victims of domestic violence. He had volunteered for many years at the Animal Rescue Fund of the Hamptons in Wainscott as well.

“Due to his warmth and easy engagement, people enjoyed his company and welcomed his friendship,” his family wrote. “Most of all, Lee was a dear friend to the many people who cherished his warmth, humor and enthusiasm, which on some occasions approach?ed the outrageous. Until the very end, Lee had a zest for life.”

A private family service was held on July 24 at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. Memorial donations have been suggested to The Retreat, 13 Goodfriend Drive, East Hampton 11937.

James Weber, 44

James Weber, 44

July 23, 1969 - July 23, 2014
By
Star Staff

James Weber, a lifelong resident of East Hampton and member of the Sons of the American Legion, died of an undetermined cause on July 20. Mr. Weber was three days shy of his 45th birthday.

“In the tradition of most Bonackers, Jim was an avid fisherman and a clammer,” wrote his sister, Barbara Young of Hampton Bays. Some of his favorite places, she wrote, were Northwest Dock for fishing and, for clamming, the former site of Camp St. Regis in Northwest Woods.

James Andrew Weber was born on July 23, 1969, at Southampton Hospital to Gil and Marie Weber of East Hampton. He grew up in East Hampton and played football at East Hampton High School. After graduation, Mr. Weber took up carpentry and worked in construction and as a handyman, his sister wrote.

Mr. Weber did not want a funeral, his sister said. Instead, a celebration of his life was held on Sunday at American Legion Post 419 in Amagansett. Guests were asked to “dress as casual as you like — T-shirts and jeans — as that’s what Jim would want,” his sister wrote.

In addition to his parents and sister, Mr. Weber is survived by his brothers, Gilbert Weber of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., William Weber of East Lyme, Conn., Thomas Weber of Flanders, and Timothy Weber of East Hampton. Nine nieces and two nephews also survive.

Mr. Weber was cremated and his ashes scattered between Northwest Dock and the Camp St. Regis site. His family has suggested memorial contributions to American Legion Post 419, 15 Montauk Highway, Amagansett 11930.

“Jim had a very kind soul and a very loving and generous heart. He was always helping and giving to others,” his sister wrote. “All those that knew Jim will love him and cherish him in their hearts forever.”

 

 

For Dominick Puglisi

For Dominick Puglisi

By
Star Staff

A funeral service for Dominick Puglisi of Blue Jay Way in East Hampton, who died on Friday, will take place at the Robertaccio Funeral Home on Medford Avenue in Patchogue today at 11 a.m. A deacon from St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church will lead the service. Burial will follow in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram.

An obituary for Mr. Puglisi, who was 59, will appear in a future issue.

 

Thomas C. Tillinghast

Thomas C. Tillinghast

Nov. 29, 1952 - July 17, 2014
By
Star Staff

Thomas Corwin Tillinghast, a former member of the East Hampton Fire Department and charter member of the East Hampton Kiwanis Club, died of complications of heart disease at home in Southold on July 17.

Mr. Tillinghast, who was born on a dairy farm at Apaquogue and Georgica Roads, lived nearly all of his 61 years in East Hampton. He moved to Southold in 2011, said his brother, Robert Tillinghast of East Hampton.

He was born on Nov. 29, 1952, at Southampton Hospital to Frank H. Tillinghast Sr. and the former Caroline C. Collins, both of whom died before him. He grew up on Apaquogue Road and was a member of East Hampton High School’s class of 1971.

Mr. Tillinghast was self-employed in the field of landscaping and excavation. Previously, he worked at the G&T Dairy on Race Lane, on the site where Mr. Tillinghast’s family had been selling milk from its dairy farm since 1942. The Tillinghast Dairy Farm merged with the Gould Brothers dairy on nearby Gingerbread Lane to form the G&T Dairy in the late 1960s. Mr. Tillinghast continued to work there when the business became the Chicken House, which closed in 1997.

Mr. Tillinghast also worked for farmers including Howell Topping and Cliff Foster, as well as at Schenck Fuels. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, and cooking, his family said.

Another brother, Frank Tillinghast Jr. of East Hampton, survives, as do one nephew, two nieces, two great-nephews, and one great-niece.

A graveside funeral service was held on July 25 at the South End Burying Ground in East Hampton. Mr. Tillinghast’s family has suggested memorial contributions to the Southold Fire Department Rescue Squad, P.O. Box 908, Southold 11971.

 

 

Alexander Koleoglou

Alexander Koleoglou

July 26, 1928 - July 26, 2014
By
Star Staff

Alexander Koleoglou, who loved sailing, golf, Montauk, and, most of all, his wife, died July 26 at Southampton Hospital of heart failure, after a brief illness. He was 86.

Born in the Bronx July 26, 1928, to Michael Koleoglou and the former Alexandra Georgiades, he grew up in the Bronx, and graduated from Stuyvesant High School, one of the most prestigious public schools in New York, in 1945. His family urged him to go to one of the city’s universities, which at the time were free. But instead, in February 1946 he enlisted in the Army and served overseas, stationed in Italy, which was then recovering from World War II.

His older sister, Martha Koleoglou of Montauk, spoke yesterday about when he returned home. Their father wanted his only son to go to college, as his sisters had done. But, Mr. Koleoglou went into the construction business in New York. He eventually rose to the level of supervisor, working on many big projects.

The Koleoglou family had begun vacationing in Montauk in 1952. “We would come out in two cars. We stayed in the Lido Motel. There were no sidewalks. The point had a lot of sand,” his sister said. The entire family fell in love with the hamlet.

Mr. Koleoglou had always loved sailing. “He had his first sailboat when he was 17,” his sister said. At the time, the sailboats were UpIsland.

At a luncheonette in Oceanside, Mr. Koleoglou met his future wife, Anneliese Bundschuh, a German immigrant. They were married in 1957. The couple lived first in Long Beach, before he built a house for his young family in Baldwin.

The family loved to travel and returned several times to Mrs. Koleoglou’s native land.

Once married, Mr. and Mrs. Koleoglou began sailing to Montauk and docking along East Lake Drive.

In 1979, he bought land in Montauk near the golf course. His sons, who were also in construction, built a house on the site, which the couple used for several years. Both husband and wife loved golf and became regulars at Montauk Downs. He also built a 30-foot sailboat, which he was very proud of.

After the couple sold the first house, they bought land in the Panorama area of Montauk, between Flamingo and Fairview Avenues and made their home there full time.

Mr. Koleoglou was an early believer in alternative sources of energy, as far back as 1980. He began installing solar panels on structures he built, and eventually embraced the technology of wind power, as well.

His wife suffered a stroke several years ago, and Mr. Koleoglou had been her caretaker since. “She was his life,” his sister said.

He is survived by another sister, Aster Stein of Montauk, two sons, Peter Koleoglou and Michael Koleoglou, both of Southampton, and three grandchildren. A third sister, Mary Paulides, died before him.

A funeral service was held July 30 at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Hamptons in Southampton with the Rev. Constantine Lazarakis presiding. Burial followed at Fort Hill Cemetery in Montauk.

The family has suggested donations to the Montauk ambulance, care of the Montauk Fire Department, 12 Flamingo Avenue, Montauk 11954 or the Montauk Community Senior Nutrition Center, 240 Edgemere Street, Montauk.

 

Helen Cordier Johns

Helen Cordier Johns

June 24, 1925 - Aug. 4, 2014
By
Star Staff

Helen Cordier Johns, who had an abiding commitment to social justice and diversity and worked on causes from integration to the support of AIDS patients, died on Aug. 4 in Richmond, Va. She was 89.

Throughout her life, Ms. Johns spent as much time as she could in East Hampton, in a house she built next door to one her maternal grandfather, Howard Ogden Wood, had built in the late 19th century on Georgica Pond. According to family lore, the house was constructed on the spot where a goose fell during a hunting trip to the area.

Born on June 24, 1925, the daughter of the former Helen Ogden Wood and Auguste Julien Cordier, she grew up here and in New York City. She attended the Chapin School and graduated from Chatham Hall in Virginia.

After two years at Vassar College, she returned to Manhattan. On June 29, 1946, she married Thomas Nelson Page Johns at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton, embarking on the “interesting and challenging life of a surgeon’s wife,” her family said.

She completed her Bachelor of Science degree at Johns Hopkins and later pursued a master’s degree in French, which had been her first language.

The couple had six children. The family moved in 1954 to Richmond. Mr. Johns died in Cambridge, England, in 1986.

After her husband’s death, Ms. Johns pursued her love of languages, studying Greek and Italian until she was in her 80s, and continued to travel extensively, enjoying culture and visiting far-flung family and friends.

Ms. Johns was known for her energy, keen intellect, and hospitality, as well as her selflessness, curiosity, playfulness, and occasional irreverence. She enjoyed bringing together diverse and interesting people of all ages at eclectic and elegant dinner parties.

In East Hampton, she was a member of St. Luke’s, the Maidstone Club, and Guild Hall.

She was an early advocate of racial integration, and in the early 1990s began to minister to those with AIDS. She took great pride in attending vigils against the death penalty and discrimination and injustice against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. She had a strong commitment to justice for all those marginalized by laws and society, her family said.

Ms. Johns is survived by her children: Frank Stoddert Johns II, Helen Julia Saunders, and Auguste Johns Bannard of Richmond, Jeanne Johns Cassin of Groton, Mass., and East Hampton, Thomas N.P. Johns Jr. of Edina, Minn., and Derek MacGuire Johns of Huntsville, Ala. Eleven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren also survive.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 22, at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Richmond, the Rev. Gary Jones presiding.

Donations have been suggested to the Anna Julia Cooper Episcopal School, 2124 North 29th Street, Richmond, Va. 23223, or to CARITAS, P.O. Box 25790, Richmond, Va. 23260-5790.

 

 

For Heddy Lukas

For Heddy Lukas

By
Star Staff

A memorial Mass for Hedwig Lukas, who died at home in the Ditch Plain area of Montauk on Sunday, will be said at St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church in Montauk today at 10 a.m. Mrs. Lukas, who was 101, was known as Heddy.

Burial will be at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale. An obituary will appear in a future issue.

James Thomason

James Thomason

By
Star Staff

    James Thomason died on Monday at home in Sag Harbor. He was 66 and the owner of the Morris Studio, a photo lab in Southampton. An obituary will appear in a future issue.

 

Tibor (Teddy) Klein, Holocaust Survivor

Tibor (Teddy) Klein, Holocaust Survivor

Jan. 30, 1932 - Aug. 6, 2014
By
Star Staff

Tibor Klein, a Hungarian Holocaust survivor and seasonal Montauk resident who kept a boat at Navy Road there for many years, died yesterday at Chilton Hospital in Pompton Plains, N.J. Known as Teddy, he was 82 and had suffered from heart disease for many years.

Mr. Klein loved fishing, both from the beach and from his boat, and was proud of a trophy he earned for a striped bass he caught while surfcasting. He enjoyed fixing things and giving new life to items he found at the Montauk recycling center. He also enjoyed growing vegetables, cooking, and entertaining.

Born in Budapest on Jan. 30, 1932, he was the son of Izidor Klein and the former Karolina Steiner. He grew up there and became a master electrician, with training in cardiac monitors. He had played soccer in his native country, gone on long-distance bike rides, and was in a singing group.

In 2012, Mr. Klein spoke of his experiences during the Holocaust at a Yom Ha’Shoah remembrance at the Jewish Center of the Hamptons in East Hampton. He fought in the Hungarian revolution of 1956 and drove an ambulance back and forth to Austria before coming to the United States.

In February of 1957, he was married to Barbara Cantor. The couple later separated, but remained cordial. Ms. Cantor survives.

After immigrating to this country, Mr. Klein became a chief maintenance engineer at Beth Israel Hospital in Passaic, N.J. He lived in Paterson, N.J., from 1956 to 1958, and then in Clifton, N.J. He was a member of Passaic County Elks Club and the New Jersey Sportsmen’s Club, and he was a Mets fan who loved watching the team’s games.

Mr. Klein is survived by three children, Charlotte Klein Sasso of Amagansett, Michael Klein of Cranbury, N.J., and Harry Klein of North Caldwell, N.J. A brother, Eugene Klein of Miami, and three grandchildren also survive.

A service will be held this morning at the Jewish Memorial Chapel in Clifton, with Rabbi Eric Wisnia of Congregation Beth Chaim in Princeton Junction, N.J., presiding. Burial will follow at the Menorah Cemetery in Clifton.

Memorial contributions have been suggested to the Deborah Hospital, deborahfoundation.org, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, jdrf.org, or the Jewish Center of the Hamptons, 44 Woods Lane, East Hampton 11937.

 

 

Hedwig Lucas, 101

Hedwig Lucas, 101

Dec. 15, 1912 _ July 27, 2014
By
Star Staff

Hedwig Lucas, who began vacationing in Montauk in 1960 and became a full-time resident in 1997, died on July 27 at her Ditch Plain residence. Known to her friends as Heddy, she was 101 years old.

Her only child, Joseph Lukas of Montauk, said the family used to come to the hamlet every summer. “They stayed at Deep Hollow Ranch for many, many years,” and also camped at Hither Hills State Park. His mother “loved to walk around the Lighthouse,” he said.

Born in Ridgewood, Queens, on Dec. 15, 1912, to Louis and Grace Russwurm, Mrs. Lukas was one of eight children. She grew up in Glendale, where she met her future husband, Joseph S. Lukas, at the bookbinding company where she worked. They were married in 1938, and lived at first in Glendale, then in East Meadow.

In 1974, the younger Mr. Lucas built a house on Hoppin Avenue. His father died in 1994, and three years later the son built a house for his mother on the lot next door to his, where she spent the rest of her long life. She was a member of St. Therese of Lisieux Catholic Church and of the Friends of the Montauk Library, as well as the Montauk chapter of AARP.

Homemaking skills were important to her, her son said. She enjoyed baking and crocheting, and was a great reader.

A memorial mass was held at St. Therese of Lisieux last Thursday, followed by burial at St. Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale.