William Vassiles of East Hampton died on Nov. 3 at his apartment in New York City of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 88.
Mr. Vassiles, who went by Bill, was a stenographer whose first experience in the field was as an Army private first class while serving at Fort Dix from 1954 to 1957. He worked for the Brooklyn Supreme Court for many years, retiring in the late 1990s.
His hobbies were collecting antique toys and primitive American art and furniture, and he loved going to museums, according to his partner of 42 years, Karel de Boer. Mr. Vassiles was a “people person” who “was thinking out of the box all the time,” Mr. de Boer said. “Those who knew him very well adored him.”
Born on Feb. 10, 1935, to Gregory Vassiles and the former Sophia Veranos, he grew up in the Bronx and graduated from the Greek American Institute and James Monroe High School.
In 1978 he bought a vacation house on Accabonac Road where he spent weekends and summers. He moved to East Hampton full time in the 1990s, after his sister, Mary Hellaris, moved here.
In 2008 he and Mr. de Boer moved to a house on Main Street, but they held onto their apartment in New York.
In addition to Mr. de Boer, he is survived by his brother John Vassiles of Forest Hills Gardens and by nieces, nephews, and grand-nieces and grand-nephews. His brother Stephen Vassiles and sister, Ms. Hellaris, died before him.
Mr. Vassiles was cremated. A celebration of his life will be planned for January.
