Thomas David Talmage, a former East Hampton Town engineer who had a long career in civil engineering, died at his house on Long Lane in East Hampton on Aug. 26. He was 65 and had Parkinson’s disease.
An 11th-generation East Hampton Talmage, “he was incredibly proud of his family history and his family name,” his family said.
Born in Southampton on July 19, 1960, to David Lind Talmage and the former Jane Peters, he grew up on Cedar Street in East Hampton. His was a farming family — his father farmed potatoes for many years — and Mr. Talmage had a lifelong love of it. He particularly enjoyed working on his tractors, “fixing them, riding them, and using them in his garden.”
He graduated from East Hampton High School and from Clarkson College of Technology in Potsdam, N.Y. After a long tenure as the town engineer in Southampton, Mr. Talmage held the same post for 16 years in East Hampton Town.
When he wasn’t working, Mr. Talmage could often be found in his garden, where he grew tomatoes, sunflowers, and pumpkins. For many years he sold strawberries from a farm stand on Long Lane.
He and Tracy Grimshaw were married in June 1981 and had a son and two daughters. They divorced in 1998.
His children survive. Christopher Talmage and his wife, Jessica; Kayla Buffolino and her husband, Michael, and Lindsy Talmage-Mund and her husband, Daniel, all live in Hampton Bays. Mr. Talmage is also survived by five grandchildren and two brothers, Steve Talmage and John Talmage, both of East Hampton. A sister, Linda Emerson, died before him.
Visiting hours will be this evening from 6 to 8 at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton. Mr. Talmage will be cremated. A service will be held at a later date.
