Many agree that preserving John Steinbeck's house in Sag Harbor for use as a writers retreat is a good idea, but there are tensions over the specifics of the plan.

Joseph O’Connell of East Hampton, 87, “lived with conviction, strength and courage — his way — never accepting the status quo, fighting the good fight, and endeavoring to give voice to the voiceless,” wrote his daughter Kathleen O’Connell. Calling him “a hero among men,” she added that his “humor, unwavering ethics, and indestructible values were at the core of his character.”

Rose Pizzorno of Springs, a former teacher aide, died of cardiac arrest on Sept. 20 at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital after a short illness.

Steven R. Romanowski, an Army veteran who had a four-decade career as a glazier, working on public and private projects, including at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., died on Oct. 4 at home in Rensselaerville, N.Y. He was 64.