U.S., Obituary Collection, 1930-Current
Florence Evanthea Clark
Florence Evanthea Clark, a longtime Shelter Island summer resident, died at Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca, New York on September 26, 2003. Most recently, she had been living in Clare Bridge Cottage, Ithaca, New York.
Mrs. Clark's life spanned the better part of the last century. Born March 8, 1916 in Harlem, New York to Maria Zuvekas and Spyros Tsucalas, she attended the New York City school system and completed two years at Hunter College before taking work to help support her family in the Great Depression.
She met August Clark, her husband of 62 years, in the Inwood section of Manhattan, and was married on November 30, 1941. Their honeymoon in Cuba was cut short by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and they returned to live out the war years in New York.
She became acquainted with Shelter Island through a family friend (the late Florence Nichols), staying first at the Peconic Lodge in 1942, then at Chiaramonte's cabins until 1954, when she and her husband purchased their current home on Smith Street from Bill Payne. Since then, she spent nearly every summer on Shelter Island.
An avid cook, she loved children, the arts and progressive causes in general. "Her great sense of humor, strength of heart and willingness to forgive," said her children, were a great source of inspiration and stayed with her even through the long fight with Alzheimer's disease that ended her life.
She is survived by her husband, August C. Clark, of Ithaca; two of her children, Dean and Ted Clark, both of Ithaca; her daughter in-law Susan Jones of Ithaca; her grandchildren Phoebe and Eleanor Clark, and her brother Harry Tsucalas of Shelter Island. She was predeceased by her brother Ted Tsucalas.
Services will be held at St. Mary's Episcopal Church on Shelter Island, Sunday, October 5 at 2 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations should be sent to the Alzheimer's Association (http://www.alz.org), 225 N. Michigan Avenue, Suite 1700, Chicago, Illinois 60601-7633.
David P. Jaicks
Ram Island homeowner David P. Jaicks, a pioneer in food processing and an education activist, died Monday, March 15 at a nursing home in Ridgewood, New Jersey. He was 78.
The cause was complications from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
Mr. Jaicks was born and raised in Lake Forest, Illinois and entered the U.S. Navy in 1943 when he was 18. He shipped out to Japan where he led his men in the Seabees in the clean-up and rebuilding of Nagasaki, following the second atomic bomb. After the war he attended the University of Texas and in 1964 moved east to join the New Jersey-based American Home Products Corporation (Wyeth) in the food division. He retired in 1990 as CEO and president of seven plants where he had introduced state-of-the art technology. He was the first, for example, to put a microwaveable pasta meal on grocery shelves. During his tenure, he also arranged to donate large pallets of food to the homeless in New York.
As a resident of Waldwick, New Jersey at the time, he served as president of the Waldwick Board of Education. In the 1960s and 1970s, he worked with community organizations to move his new town, Ridgewood, away from de-facto segregation and to recognize Martin Luther King Day in the schools.
In 1980, Mr. Jaicks and his wife, Nancy, came to Shelter Island where they bought a home on Little Ram Island. An ardent golfer, he was a member of the Gardiner's Bay Country Club as well as the Shelter Island Yacht Club. Mr. Jaicks also was an active supporter of the Nature Conservancy and of the Fitness Center during its building phase.
As a retiree in the 1990s, Mr. Jaicks participated in lengthy tours of duty in the Ukraine and Poland where, as a volunteer for the Citizen Corps for Democracy and the International Executive Service Corps, he worked to transform barely functioning food manufacturing plants into hygienic industries.
Mr. Jaicks is survived by his wife Nancy; his four sons, Bryan of Ridgewood, Andrew of Tucson, Arizona, Perry of Mesa, Arizona and Cameron of Vail, Colorado; two stepsons, Raul Cintra-Leite of Saddle Brook, New Jersey and Alex Cintra-Leite of San Mateo, California; and five grandchildren.
A memorial service was held at Christ Church in Ridgewood on Friday, March 19, 2004. A burial service was held at St. Mary's Episcopal Church on Saturday, March 20, Reverend Steven Crowson officiating.
Anthony Jarzabkowski
Anthony Jarzabkowski, 71, died at his Mattituck home on March 13.
A resident of Mattituck for 26 years, Mr. Jarzabkowski taught music at Shelter Island High School until his retirement in 1994 and then continued to teach privately and at the East End Arts Council in Riverhead. He was a member of the Silver Brass Orchestra polka band, playing saxophone and clarinet. Mr. Jarzabkowski performed annually at the Polish Town Street Fair and Polka Festival in Riverhead and gave performances all across Long Island. He composed the music to "Polishtown USA," which is heard on WRIV radio in Riverhead every Sunday morning.
The son of Stephen and Irene (Herbaczewski) Jarzabkowski, he was born in Maspeth on June 11, 1932. He grew up in Oceanside and was a member of the Oceanside Fire Department. Mr. Jarzabkowski served in the U.S. Army from 1952 to 1954.
He was a member of the Knights of Columbus Marian Council and a communicant of Our Lady of Ostrabrama R.C. Church in Cutchogue. "Tony will be remembered for his love of teaching and playing music, and for the love shown his family," said a family statement.
Survivors include his wife, Evelyn; his mother, Irene, of Spring Hill, Florida; two daughters, Laura Wahl of Peconic and Lynn Malone of Wading River; two brothers, Edward of Spring Hill and Richard of Oceanside; and five grandchildren.
Visitation, a Knights of Columbus service and vigil prayers were conducted at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck on March 22. The Liturgy of Christian Burial was celebrated on March 23 at Our Lady of Ostrabrama Church, Father Walter Rudnicki officiating. Interment followed at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Cutchogue.
Ann Travers Hayes
Ann Travers Hayes, 79, who began coming to Shelter Island in 1941 and had lived here full-time for the past nine years, died on June 18, 2004 at Eastern Long Island Hospital as a result of complications from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Born January 25, 1925 to Anna and John Travers in New York, Ms. Hayes was a graduate of Cathedral High School in New York and attended Ladycliff College and St. John's University. She worked for 14 years as a tax librarian for Pricewaterhouse.
Ms. Hayes lived on Long Island most of her life in Bethpage, Port Jefferson and Rockville Centre. She was a member of Our Lady of the Isle Catholic Church, where she was an eucharistic minister and performed volunteer work. She was a member of the Gardiner's Bay Country Club and volunteered at Eastern Long Island Hospital for many years.
She is survived by six children: Ann Marie Myatt of Rockville Centre; Martin F. Hayes of Pound Ridge; Dennis J. Hayes of Bronxville; Kathleen Sample of Shelter Island; John J. Hayes of Duluth, Georgia and Patrick J. Hayes of Weston, Florida. She had 10 grandchildren: Christopher, Rick and Kevin Myatt; Sasha, Maggie, John, Molly, Owen, Delia and Emily Hayes.
Her sister, Margaret Conway of Westmoreland Farm on Shelter Island, died in November, 2003.
A funeral mass was celebrated on June 22, 2004 at Our Lady of the Isle Catholic Church with Father Charles Dougherty officiating. Burial followed at the church cemetery.
Sally L. Gilrain
Sally L. Gilrain (nÉe Murff) died Tuesday, September 28, 2004 at the Compassionate Care Hospice of St. Clares Hospital in Dover, New Jersey following a brief illness. She was 72.
Born in Queens, New York, Ms. Gilrain lived in Verona for 20 years before moving to Montville seven years ago. She maintained a residence on Shelter Island for the past 20 years.
Ms. Gilrain was a homemaker.
She received her bachelor's degree, summa cum laude, from Montclair State University in 1979 where she was also a member of Phi Kappa Phi.
Ms. Gilrain was a member of the Garden Club of Shelter Island. She was a passionate gardener and was devoted to tracing the genealogical origins of her family.
Her husband, Gerard J., died in August 2003.
She is survived by a son, John R. of Wayne; a daughter, Joanne C. of Montville; four grandchildren, Robert, Gerard, Kristin and Jennifer and her beloved dog Genie.
Private funeral services were held Friday, October 1, 2004 with interment in Greenwood Cemetery, Boonton, New Jersey.
Memorial contributions in Ms. Gilrain's name may be made to Compassionate Care Hospice, 66 Mt. Prospect Avenue, Building C, Clifton, New Jersey 07013.
William Otis Payne
William Otis Payne, a lifelong resident of Shelter Island, passed away on January 22, 2001 at Eastern Long Island Hospital in Greenport. He was 85 years old.
Long active in his community, Bill was a past trustee and active member of the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church. He was a member of the Shelter Island Board of Education and a 60-year member of the Shelter Island Fire Department.
He played taps for the Memorial Day Parade with the American Legion for 62 years. He was a 60-year member of the Masons F & AM Peconic Lodge 349 in Greenport and served as patron to the Eastern Star.
Bill was a self-employed plumbing and air conditioning contractor on Shelter Island for many years.
He may have been best known for his cross-Atlantic voyage in 1974-75 in his 35-foot sailboat, BulBul.
He is survived by his wife, Beatrice Gatti Payne; daughters, Roberta Simons of Mattituck and Cynthia Labrozzi of Shelter Island; and sons, William Otis Payne III of Ft. Myers, Florida and Frederic Payne of Houston, Texas. Two grandchildren also survive him: Andrea L. Payne of Chicago and Albert Labrozzi of Shelter Island.
Interment in the Shelter Island Cemetery, under the direction of the Shelter Island Funeral Home, is for family only. A memorial service will be held at a later date. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Shelter Island Presbyterian Church.
Philip S. Reiss
Philip S. Reiss, an innovative lawyer and deal maker who was at the forefront of developments in the global advertising and communications industry, died on Saturday, January 13 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York City. The cause of death was colon cancer, which was diagnosed in September, 1999. He was 69 and lived in New York City.
Mr. Reiss, a part-time Shelter Island resident with a home for the last 23 years on Manhanset Road, was responsible for the advertising industry's first tender offer, when WPP Group plc acquired J. Walter Thompson. As the senior partner in the law firm of Davis & Gilbert LLP, Mr. Reiss subsequently oversaw the growth of the WPP media company from the acquisitions of Ogilvy & Mather through Young and Rubicam in 2000, the deals that made WPP the world's leading communications services group.
Mr. Reiss, along with Sir Martin Sorrell, group chief executive of WPP Group plc, was at the forefront of the creation of the global communications agency industry. Working together, the two men were catalysts in recognizing the commercial potential of the advertising, marketing and communication businesses. Theirs was the first deal in which a foreign company acquired a major U.S. advertising agency. Such acquisitions were controversial at the time in the U.S. However, as the deals brokered by the two men turned into profitable ventures, globalization and recognition of the commercial value of the advertising business became key factors in the merger and acquisition wave affecting agencies over the past two decades.
Mr. Reiss was considered a powerbroker in the advertising business, bringing together advertising executives and fusing together great agencies. He was involved in creating Omnicom Group Inc. from the merger of Doyle Dane Bernbach, BBDO Worldwide and Needham Harper and Steers. What is now BCOM3's predecessor, DMB&B, resulted from the merger of Benton & Bowles and Darcy, McManus and Masius, and Backer Spielvogel Bates among others.
Following his mentor, A.M. Gilbert, one of the founding partners of Davis & Gilbert, a 96-year-old law firm, Mr. Reiss was responsible for developing the basic legal arrangements by which advertising agencies govern themselves today.
Shelly Lazarus, chairman and CEO of Ogilvy & Mather, said, "He was what David Ogilvy called a true - gentleman with brains.' We will miss his humanity, his decency and his wisdom."
"Philip Reiss was a superb lawyer, but he was an even better friend," said Charlotte Beers, chairman of J. Walter Thompson Co. "He has influenced so many decisions and events in the wide world of advertising, always with generosity, candor and wit. Truly, he was peerless."
Mr. Reiss graduated from Syracuse University in 1953 and from New York University Law School in 1958. He served as first lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. His legal career began in 1959 at Davis & Gilbert where he remained throughout his career. In 1994, Mr. Reiss was appointed mediator for the U.S. District Court, Southern District.
Mr. Reiss had a financial interest in the popular soap operas, "All My Children" and "One Life to Live," and represented their creator, Emmy award-winning writer Agnes Nixon, in connection with the creation, development, production and sale of the programs to ABC.
Mr. Reiss was born in New York City on April 27, 1931, the younger of two children. His father, Victor Reiss, was executive at Marcus Brothers Textile Corporation in New York.
Mr. Reiss was a member of Gardiner's Bay Country Club. He was a regular contributor to many Island organizations. He is survived by his second wife, the former Gloria Viseltear; one sister, Barbara Hochfelder; three daughters, Jane Reiss, Nancy Booke and Meg Reiss; two sons-in-law, Nicholas Booke and Dan Shefelman and four grandchildren, Lena and Will Shefelman and Henry and Milo Brooke.
A memorial service was held on Monday, January 22, 2001 at 10 a.m. at All Souls Unitarian Church at 1157 Lexington Avenue in New York City.
Robert J. Shields
Robert J. Shields, 88, of 105 Bella Vista Drive, Ithaca, New York and formerly of Shelter Island and Stewart Manor, New York, died Saturday, January 21, 2001 at the Cayuga Medical Center in Ithaca. Born in Brooklyn, Mr. Shields was the son of the late James and Minnie Holden Shields.
Mr. Shields retired in 1976 from the Ettco Wire Cable Corp. in Brooklyn, where he had worked for many years. He served with the United States Navy during World War II.
Mr. Shields is survived by his wife of 60 years, Elizabeth Horan Shields of Ithaca; his sons and daughters-in-law, Thomas and Janice Shields of Wellesley, Massachusetts and Jerry and Ellen Shields of Ithaca; and by his grandchildren, Matthew, Elizabeth, Lauren and Lindsey Shields. He was predeceased by his son, Robert R. Shields.
Private committal services will be held at The Lutheran All Saints Cemetery in Brooklyn in the spring. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the charity of one's choice. Arrangements are by the Bangs Funeral Home in Ithaca.
Lois A. Taplin
Lois A. Taplin, 67, of Dover, New Jersey and formerly of Shelter Island, died Tuesday, January 16, 2001 at the Saint Clare's Hospital Dover Campus.
Born in Mount Vernon, New York, she had resided in Dover, New Jersey for many years.
The daughter of the late Harold and Ethel (Sullivan) Whittle, she had worked for many years as a nurse in the Morris County area prior to her retirement.
Survivors include her four sons, Bruce of Shelter Island, George of Herndon, Virginia, Mark of Dover, New Jersey and Scott of Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts; her three daughters, Lynn Taplin of St. Paul, Minnesota, Terry Gramkowski of Edgartown, Massachusetts and Jill Peterson of Mt. Arlington, New Jersey; one brother, Thomas Whittle of Mahwah, New Jersey; and one sister, Ethel Walsh, of San Diego, California. She is also survived by seven grandchildren, one great grandson and many nieces and nephews.
Funeral arrangements were under the direction of the Smith-Taylor-Ruggiero Funeral Home in Dover, New Jersey.
