Skip to main content

Helen S. Rattray, Longtime Star Editor and Publisher, Dies at 90

Fri, 04/18/2025 - 14:45

Helen S. Rattray, the former longtime editor and publisher of The East Hampton Star, died early Wednesday morning at Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport.

Ms. Rattray, who was 90, became associate editor of the paper in 1976 and took over as editor in chief in 1980. Her "Connections" column appeared in The Star for 43 years, until 2020. 

A memorial gathering and celebration of her life will be held on Sunday, April 27, at 11 a.m. at Ashawagh Hall in Springs, with a potluck lunch to follow.

Villages

Herb’s Market Will Close Its Doors

Harold (Herb) Herbert opened Herb’s Market in 1963. It was a grocery store, deli, and butcher shop, and became an unofficial social center of Montauk — a place where both locals and visitors could gather, catch up with one another, share stories, and always feel welcome.

Sep 3, 2026

Careful Tick Checks the Only Solution

What’s the answer to the tick problem on the East End? Mountain lions? Genetically engineered mice? Deer-feeding stations? Deer-killing stations? Insecticides? All solutions were discussed at a talk sponsored by the Perfect Earth Project titled “Ticknology.”

Sep 3, 2026

Item of the Week: Annie Cooper Boyd’s Old Whalers Church

Her painting of Sag Harbor’s Old Whalers Church is dated Sept. 21, 1938, the day the Hurricane of 1938 hit, shearing off the 185-foot steeple.

Sep 3, 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.