John Wanag came to own his own custom fishing rod business by way of many years spent on the water — fishing, of course. He’d been coming to Montauk since the age of 11, first helping out at a tackle shop.
“They would bring him as a mate, bring him to the bar, and let him sit at a table and have a glass of beer. And they would fish,” his longtime girlfriend, Helen McGuire, recalled. “Those were the seed days — when you experience Montauk for the first time. If you are a person with blood type ‘NaCl,’ you understand. Montauk seeds are the only ones that flourish to life by continually adding salt water.”
Mr. Wanag made it through a year of college before packing up and moving to Montauk. He first worked as a commercial fisherman, a job he left after a few years when a colleague died and he began to view the work as dangerous. “His decision to leave commercial fishing was based on his commitment to his family,” Ms. McGuire wrote.
He then worked as a charter boat mate and for places like Power Equipment Plus, Star Island Yacht Club, Gone Fishing Marina and Restaurant, and Amagansett Building Supply.
With his own business, MTK Custom Rods and Repair, his reputation was, his family said, “legendary,” achieved by “combining functionality and art.”
He was also proudly living a sober life for more than 15 years and considered this “one of his greatest accomplishments,” Ms. McGuire said.
“He was not defined by his disease, but once he figured it out with the enormous support from his A.A. family, he was able to truly live a full life as it was intended,” she wrote.
Mr. Wanag, who was most recently living in Springs, died of cardiac arrest at home last Thursday. He was 64.
John E. Wanag was born in Wilton, Conn., on Aug. 20, 1960, to Edward Wanag and the former Mary Kisken. His father died when he was just 8 years old, leaving him “the man of the house,” his family said. He helped his mother care for his younger siblings and also helped out in the family business, a diner in Redding, Conn.
His marriage ended in divorce. Ms. McGuire was his “partner in crime” since 2015, she said. They “built a simple life and supported one another through many of life’s complications . . . and packed a lifetime of memories into a very short period of time.”
They fished and traveled, enjoying food and friends. While he rarely expressed his feelings in words, Ms. McGuire said, “His actions spoke volumes. Love was in a cup of perfectly brewed coffee prepared and presented with a dandelion. Love came in schlepping sound equipment to a gig.”
He will be remembered as a selfless, steadfast, kind, and trustworthy person, she wrote.
In addition to Ms. McGuire, Mr. Wanag is survived by a daughter, Melissa Wanag of Brooklyn, and two sons, Timothy Wanag and Evan Wanag, both of Montauk. He leaves three siblings, all of whom live in Connecticut: Holly Gates and her husband, Michael, Gayle Baker and her husband, Len, and Joe Wanag and his partner, Tracy.
Mr. Wanag was cremated. Visiting hours will be today from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. In place of a memorial donation, his family has urged friends and loved ones to write letters in support of turning on the communications tower at the Springs Fire Department.
