Stuart Juckett, who had generational ties to East Hampton Village, died in Sarasota, Fla., on Jan. 29. He had been in declining health for several years. He was 79.
Mr. Juckett’s son, Charles, remembered him as an academic and someone who could lecture on any topic, but at heart, he said, he was truly a rogue, playful and a little bit mischievous. Growing up on David’s Lane, Mr. Juckett and eventually his children spent a lot of time walking to and around the Nature Trail. The house he grew up in, still standing in its original form, had a direct path to the duck pond. His grandparents owned a 100-acre farm in the Georgica area.
He was born in Southampton on March 15, 1946. Both of his parents, Charles Alexander Juckett and the former Eunice Telfer, worked at East Hampton High School. His father was a guidance counselor and his mother was head of the English department. Mr. Juckett graduated from the school in 1964. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in physics from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from New York University.
“He was always attracted to a problem he could solve, and enjoyed the process and discussion as much as — or more than — the outcome,” his son said.
As a teenager, Mr. Juckett worked as a local lifeguard, and he is said to have saved three lives at the ocean beach in Montauk one stormy day. Charles Juckett would eventually follow in his footsteps and become a lifeguard himself.
After college, Mr. Juckett was hired at IBM. He started his career during a time when programming was still done with punch cards. He worked for the company from 1968 to 1996, rising from programmer to sales executive. And although he met his first wife, Lucretia Simpson, in Amagansett, his work led him to leave East Hampton and live in Connecticut and the Washington, D.C., area. The couple’s marriage ended in divorce in 1999 but they had two children together, Charles, who lives in Arlington, Va., and Baird, who lives in Sarasota.
Eventually, Mr. Juckett would end up back in Amagansett, where he lived from 1999 to 2016. He joined the Amagansett Fire Department and worked as a volunteer emergency medical technician. He joined and eventually became the president of the Amagansett Beach Association, and nurtured his love of sailing by becoming a member of the Devon Yacht Club. He met his second wife, Sydney Jones, in Amagansett, and the two were married in 2000. She predeceased him in 2016.
His mother was a travel writer and instilled in him an enthusiasm for travel. As an adult, he traveled to far-flung destinations, including the Arctic, but he enjoyed Europe and cruises, too. With his third wife, the former Dorte Smith, he had recently visited all 50 states.
In addition to his sons and his wife, Mr. Juckett is survived by a stepson, Sebastian Smith of Copenhagen and six grandchildren, Alex Juckett, Owen Juckett, Eli Juckett, Luca Juckett, August Smith, and Ellie Smith.
A memorial service is planned for this summer at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton. The family has asked that memorial contributions be made to the church.
