Obituaries

Andrea Brown, owner of the Victoria’s Mother boutique in East Hampton and later Southampton, died on Sunday at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care in Westhampton Beach after a short illness. She was 86.

Bonnie Munshin, who for more than three decades presided over the front room of Nick and Toni’s restaurant in East Hampton, died of dementia-related causes on Oct. 30. She was 84.

Paid Notice: Oskar Pahwul, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and cherished member of the Sag Harbor
community, passed away peacefully, leaving behind a legacy of art, beauty, and joy that
continues to inspire all who knew him.

Alice Tillotson of Sagaponack, the owner and manager of Perennial Charm Nursery for many years, died on Oct. 23 in Westhampton Beach. She was 74.

Paid Notice: Anthony Lombardo, a retired designer and manufacturer of fine furniture and decorative wall paneling, died on October 20 at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, N.Y., after undergoing emergency gastrointestinal surgery.

Paid Notice: Cecile Otte Pernica, 90, died peacefully on October 27, 2025. Born in Iowa, she lived much of her life in Wisconsin, graduating from Lawrence University in Appleton in 1957. Cecile had careers in public relations and marketing research upon moving to New York City.

Paid Notice: Elizabeth Spitz, affectionately known to her close friends and family as “Betty,” peacefully passed away in her sleep on October 15 in Los Angeles. Betty was 79 years old. 

The Abstract Expressionist artist Frank Wimberley of Sag Harbor, a key figure in African-American art, died on Oct. 9 at the age of 99.

George Allen Nama, whose artwork is in the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Morgan Library, died on Oct. 22. He was 86 and lived in Montauk.

Henry Dean Lester III, who ran his own business in the building trades for over 30 years, died on Oct. 14 in Sebastian, Fla. Formerly of Springs, he was 77.

Paid Notice: Sarah Andrews Hill-Wood (“Sally”) of East Hampton died on Friday, October 10, at the age of 83.

Paid Notice: Dr. John J. Cossentino, age 93, of St. Petersburg, Fla., and formerly of Fort Myers, Fla., Brooklyn, Malverne, Rockville Centre, Montauk, and Southampton, sadly left our world on October 5, 2025, after a life richly lived in service and kindness.

Darlene Marie Lancaster, a former deputy East Hampton Town clerk and member of the Montauk Fire Department’s Ladies Auxiliary, died at home in Montauk on Oct. 16. She was 76.

Paid Notice: Elizabeth Bond (Stoner) Welsh, 98, a longtime resident of Swarthmore, Media, and for the past 23 years, White Horse Village, Newtown Square, Pa., passed away peacefully surrounded by family on July 2, 2025.

Jerry P. Keeler of Springs died on Oct. 6 at the Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Southampton. He was 86.

Air Force Maj. Kevin Joseph Reilly Sr., formerly of Montauk, died on Sept. 16 in San Diego, where he had moved in March. He was 77.

Chip Dayton, a rock-and-roll photographer with an impressive portfolio, died of cardiac arrest on Sept. 9 in Skowhegan, Me. The former East Hamptoner was 74.

Paid Notice: Charles F. Hummel, noted author and expert on the Dominy craftsmen of East Hampton, passed away on September 14th peacefully at his home in Delaware.

Jason H. Bertanzel, who had lived on Swamp Road in East Hampton for much of his life, died of a heart ailment on Oct. 2 in Manorville, where he resided for the last year. He was 45.

Paid Notice: Kathleen Ingrid Burns, known as Deedee and Kathy to her family and friends, died in New York City on September 28th with her beloved son Thomas by her side.

David Seeler, a respected landscape architect and owner of the Bayberry Nursery in Amagansett for many years, died of acute myeloid leukemia on Sept. 28 at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. He was 83.

The family of Devin Brevard will receive visitors on Friday from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in East Hampton, and again on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Calvary Baptist Church here.

Caroline Ernst Hackney, a summer resident of Howard Street in Sag Harbor who had a long career in fashion, died of complications related to Alzheimer's disease on Sept. 24. She was 83.

Edward J. Schmidt of Springs and Riverhead, a history teacher for 33 years at South High School in Valley Stream, died on Sept. 9. He was 93.

Lee Maria Choron, who ran a five-and-dime in Pelham, N.Y., for 30 years and lived part time in Montauk since the 1970s, died on May 3 at the age of 95.

Paid Notice: A memorial service for Susan Comey Dayton will be held at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in East Hampton on Saturday, Oct. 4, at 11 a.m.

Elaine Jones, an outspoken observer of local politics who, when neither of the town’s major parties met her expectations, founded and led her own, died at her family house in Amagansett on Sept. 18. She was 82.

A memorial service for Phyllis Kriegel will be held on Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Ashawagh Hall in Springs.

Marilyn Fitterman, a former president of the New York State branch of the National Organization for Women who lived part time in East Hampton, died on Tuesday at her second home in Florida.

Neil Kraft, the creative director behind groundbreaking campaigns at Calvin Klein, Esprit de Corps, and Barneys New York, died at home in East Hampton on Sept. 6. He was 68.