Skip to main content

Irwin Sarason, 85

Thu, 05/27/2021 - 09:45

Irwin Sarason, an art director who left the advertising world in 1980 to devote himself to his properties on the East End, died of lung cancer on Feb. 10 at home in Bridgehampton. He was 85.

Mr. Sarason bought his first house in 1969, in Amagansett, while still working in New York City. On his own, and eventually in partnership with Ted Jeremenko, a painter and longtime friend, they owned 10 houses over the years. They renovated some of them themselves, and usually rented them out before selling them.

Irwin Sarason was born in Brooklyn on Jan. 20, 1936, to Sam Schmalberg and the former Sarah Kahn. His father died when he was 11, leaving his mother to raise three children alone. In her honor, he and his older brother, David, who survives, changed their last names as adults to Sarason.

Mr. Sarason grew up in Forest Hills, attending public schools there and studying at the Art Students League in Manhattan. He graduated from Forest Hills High School and from the Parsons School of Design before embarking on a career as an art director at various advertising agencies in the city. His occasional freelance jobs included designing the Hampton Jitney timetables when the company was founded in the early 1970s.

“He was also a very good artist,” said Mr. Jeremenko, who lives in Sag Harbor. “He could have shown his paintings at galleries, but preferred to use them to establish his own presence in the houses he owned.”

In addition to Mr. Jeremenko and his brother, who lives in New York City, Mr. Sarason leaves a sister, Muriel Schmalberg of Sausalito, Calif., a nephew, Scott Sarason, two nieces, Lori Sands and Claire Ramsey, and many friends.

Mr. Sarason was cremated. A memorial service will be held on June 5 at 2 p.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor, followed by graveside services at Oakland Cemetery there.

Villages

Springs Food Pantry Sees the Need, Addresses It

The last few years have presented challenges the Springs Food Pantry’s founders could not have anticipated when it was first established. More than 600 families are now registered to receive the assistance it provides, and an average of 355 families are served each week.

Jun 26, 2025

A Newsletter on Being a Jew in Today’s America

One of the essential roles of religion, Rabbi Jan Uhrbach of the Bridge Shul in Bridgehampton said this week, is to “help us hold onto our humanity, and remind us of the higher values that go beyond money and power and position and all of those things, in a time when the values that I hold dear are not only being violated, they’re being rejected as values.”

Jun 26, 2025

Item of the Week: The Hemerocallis Garden, 1962

Hemerocallis may be an unfamiliar term, but the garden adjacent to Clinton Academy once bore the name. This photo shows the gate to the garden some two decades after its establishment in 1941.

Jun 26, 2025

 

Your support for The East Hampton Star helps us deliver the news, arts, and community information you need. Whether you are an online subscriber, get the paper in the mail, delivered to your door in Manhattan, or are just passing through, every reader counts. We value you for being part of The Star family.

Your subscription to The Star does more than get you great arts, news, sports, and outdoors stories. It makes everything we do possible.