Skip to main content

Gus Antell, 95  

Thu, 09/09/2021 - 08:45

Gus Antell, a high school teacher and the author of several textbooks on economics and the history of Western civilization, died on Saturday at home in East Hampton. He was 95.     

After serving as a first lieutenant in the Army during World War II, he had a 30-year teaching career in the New York City public school system, including as head of a social studies department and as vice principal.     

Upon his retirement from teaching, Mr. Antell oversaw curriculum development at Junior Achievement, a nonprofit that helps young people develop entrepreneurial and financial skills.     

Born on Feb. 16, 1926, in Brooklyn to Abraham Levine and the former Rebecca Zimmerman, he grew up there, graduated from Brooklyn College, and earned a master's degree in education at Columbia University.     

In 1953, he married the former Diane Darvas, who survives. The couple had a summer home East Hampton, and began living here full time in 1989.     

Mr. Antell was a volunteer for East Hampton Meals on Wheels, the Nature Conservancy, and the South Fork Natural History Museum in Bridgehampton.     

He enjoyed birdwatching and had taken birding trips around the country and in South America. He also enjoyed sailing on Three Mile Harbor and Gardiner's Bay.     

In addition to his wife, he is survived by a daughter, Rachel Antell of Berkeley, Calif., two grandchildren, Talia and Gabriel Antell-Proulx, and a sister, Laura Brickman of Port Washington.     

A private graveside service was held on Monday at Green River Cemetery in Springs. Memorial donations have been suggested to the East Hampton Library at easthamptonlibrary.org.

Villages

The Swan Lady’s Spirit Endures

From the late 1980s until the early 2000s, it would not have been unusual to see Sigrid Owen near Fort Pond or Hook Pond — large net or perhaps a bag of cracked corn in hand — on a mission. Ms. Owen, who would have been 98 on Feb. 7, died on May 23 of last year.

Feb 12, 2026

Hands-Only CPR Lesson on Wear Red Day

Most women don’t realize cardiovascular disease is their greatest health threat. That’s why the American Heart Association named the first Friday of February National Wear Red Day, and offered lessons on hands-only CPR at places like Scoville Hall in Amagansett last week.

Feb 12, 2026

Time for the Great Backyard Bird Count!

The ground will be covered in white for this year’s Great Backyard Bird Count, which starts Friday and lasts through Sunday, and that means feeders could be especially active and potentially yield some surprises.

Feb 12, 2026

 

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.