Victor G. Lessard
Victor G. Lessard, a longtime executive administrator and building inspector of Southold Town, died of natural causes April 14 at Central Suffolk Hospital, Riverhead. He was 74.
The Mattituck resident and self-employed builder also served for five years as Greenport's building inspector until a few weeks ago, when he became ill. Prior to joining Greenport, he was Southold's principal building inspector from 1982 to May, 1993.
Mr. Lessard was born in Lowell, Mass., on April 23, 1924, to Eugene and Victorine (Gaudette) Lessard. He entered kindergarten when his parents moved to Mattituck, later graduating from Mattituck High School, Class of 1942, and St. Mary's College in Texas.
He served with the U.S. Navy in World War II from 1942 to 1946, and was a former member of the American Legion, an ex-captain with the Fire Police and 49-year member of Mattituck Fire Department. From 1948 to 1982 he was a member of United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America and also served at one time as its president.
A statement by Greenport Mayor David Kapell noted the important contribution Mr. Lessard made to Greenport's renaissance: "His ability to mix reasonable application of the laws with common sense, humility and a wonderful sense of humor served to encourage investment in the village. He will be missed."
He is survived by his wife, Ruth (MacNish); three sons, James and Michael of Mattituck, and Timothy of Jamesport; a daughter, Corinne Lessard-Garcia of Mattituck; three brothers, Louis and George of Mattituck, and Eugene of Virginia; a sister, Therese Kujawski of North Carolina; and seven grandchildren. Another son, Jeffrey, and a brother, Leon, predeceased him.
Visitation was April 15 and 16 at William F. Coster Funeral Home, Cutchogue, where a firematic service and parish prayer service were held April 16. A Mass was offered Saturday, April 17, at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Mattituck, followed by interment at Sacred Heart Cemetery, Cutchogue.
Memorial donations may be sent to the American Heart Association.
William Youngs Clark
South Ferry president
William Youngs Clark, president and CEO of the historic South Ferry Company and a lifelong resident of Shelter Island, died at his home April 24 at the age of 86.
Mr. Clark was born March 21, 1913, to Clifford Youngs and Elizabeth (Halsey) Clark and educated at Shelter Island schools and Mt. Hermon College, Mass. Trained as a youth on diesel engines, the company he inherited and led has been in the Clark family continuously since 1790, when the first ferry ran.
He was a longtime member of the Lions Club, East End Church of Christ and, when not on call with his company, a member of Shelter Island Fire Department (The Shelter Island Heights). He also served on the board of Timothy Hill Children's Ranch in Riverhead.
He is survived by his wife of eight years, Naeme (Gustafson); two sons, William II and Clifford, both of Shelter Island; four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Preceding him in death were his first wife, Mabel Louise (Bales) in 1987, and siblings Donald Havens Clark and Florence Clark Tuttle.
The Rev. James Condon officiated at funeral services Tuesday at Shelter Island Presbyterian Church, followed by interment at Emily French Cemetery, S.I. Yardley & Pino Funeral Home of Sag Harbor handled arrangements.
Memorial donations may be made to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978, or Timothy Hill Children's Ranch, Riverhead, or East End Church of Christ, Route 114, East Hampton, NY 11937.
M. Gordon Pemberton
Greenport native M.G. Pemberton, a U.S. Air Force staff sergeant who served in three wars, died of cancer May 4 at his home in Yutan, Neb. He was 75.
He was born May 27, 1923, to Henry and Daisy Pemberton, and after graduating from Greenport High School was inducted into the Air Force in 1942. He completed training at Air Force Technical Training Command, Truax Field, Madison, Wis., and Army Air Force T.C. at Lowry Field, Denver, Colo.
He served in the Pacific theater throughout World War II with the 13th Air Force and in the Korean conflict as a gunner and technician with the 42nd Bombardment Squadron. During the Vietnam War, he was chosen with five other men for a secret mission, which was successful.
According to a family member, after returning to the U.S. he served two years with Tactical Air Command in Omaha, Neb., "circumnavigating the globe constantly, and looking for trouble [until] he bought a beautiful island on the Platt River in Yutan," to which he retired in the 1950s. The Air Medal, Oak Leaf Cluster and Purple Heart were among his many service awards.
He is survived by a son, M. Gordon Jr. of Yutan; two daughters, Merle Daugherty and Stacey Pemberton of Georgia; two sisters, Norma Dalaker of Shelter Island and Zola Peckham of Greenport; five brothers, Sherrill, of Peconic, Lewis, of El Paso, Texas, Douglas, of Biloxi, Miss., Donald, of Greenport and Hector, of Orient; and two granddaughters.
A memorial service will be held at a date to be announced.
Ann Marston Mills
Ann Marston Mills, 70, a Greenport resident since 1950, died May 15 at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City.
Known as Nancy, she was born Dec. 1, 1928, in West Chester, Pa., the daughter of Weaver and Mary (McFarland) Marston. In her early years, she resided in West Chester and Westtown, Pa., and attended West Chester Friends School, Westtown School and Wilmington Friends School. She graduated with a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Wellesley College in Massachusetts in 1950.
On Sept. 9, 1950, she married William J. Mills, II and moved to Greenport,. For many years she worked in the family business, William J. Mills & Co., with her husband.
She was a sports enthusiast and fond of gardening, family members said.
She is survived by her husband; two sons, William J. Mills, III of Greenport, and Robert Mills of East Marion; two daughters, Sarah Sands of Downington, Pa., and Kathleen Beatty of Rockford, Ill.; a sister, Jane Marston of Shelter Island; and nine grandchildren.
A graveside memorial service was held on Tuesday, May 18, at Sterling Cemetery, Greenport. Arrangements were in the care of DeFriest Funeral Home, Southold.
Contributions in memory of Nancy Mills may be made to Eastern Long Island Hospital.
Margaret Harper Koke
Margaret Harper Koke, a Southold resident for 70 years, died May 20 at San Simeon by the Sound nursing home in Greenport. She was 92.
"Peg," as she was known, was born in Scotch Plains, N.J., on April 25, 1907, to George and Estelle (Skillman) Harper. She was very active in Southold's First Presbyterian Church as part of the Women's Association, as a deacon, and as the first woman elder.
Mrs. Koke was also a member of Southold Peconic Senior Citizens and Southold Historical Society, and a volunteer at Eastern Long Island Hospital and San Simeon by the Sound. "She could be seen on any nice day riding her bike to the village," said her son, Frederick Koke of Southold.
Besides her son, she is survived by three grandchildren. Her husband, Alexander, predeceased her.
A memorial service will be held today, Thursday, at 2 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church in Southold, the Rev. Peter J. Kelley officiating. Arrangements were handled by DeFriest Funeral Home, Southold.
Memorial donations may be made to First Presbyterian Church, Southold.
Helen Norkelun
Longtime Cutchogue resident Helen Norkelun died May 29 at her home. She was 73.
She was born in Peconic, Nov. 18, 1925, to Joseph and Agnes (Czerniawski) Lamaka, and lived in Peconic before moving to Cutchogue in 1957.
Mrs. Norkelun had worked in electronics with Hazeltine in Riverhead, and was a member of Our Lady of Ostrabrama R.C. Church, Cutchogue.
She is survived by her husband, Harry; her son, Philip, of Riverhead; a brother, Walter Lamaka of Patchogue; three sisters, Mary Heaney of Greenport, Frances Lessard of Mattituck and Jane Blados of Cutchogue; and one granddaughter.
The family received friends Tuesday, June 1, at DeFriest Funeral Home, Mattituck, where religious services were held that evening. The Celebration of the Liturgy of Christian Burial was offered Wednesday morning at Our Lady of Ostrabrama Church by the Rev. Walter Rudnicki. Interment was in Sacred Heart R.C. Cemetery.
Walter Schumann, founder of the Shelter Island Reporter
Walter Robert Schumann, founder, editor and publisher of the Shelter Island Reporter for 14 years and later a columnist for The Suffolk Times, died at University Hospital, Stony Brook, on Friday, June 4, near the 40th anniversary of his paper's first edition. He was 83. Mr. Schumann was the great-grandson of composer Robert Schumann.
A funeral service will take place today, June 10, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Shelter Island.
According to his daughter, Peggy Pahoulis of Holtsville, Mr. Schumann died of complications associated with long-term diabetes. He is also survived by another daughter, Elizabeth Brumfield of Mission Viejo, Calif.; two sisters, Marie Personius of Elmira, N.Y., and Clare Albee of Tequesta, Fla.; and four grandchildren. His first wife, the former Natalie Elizabeth Barrett, to whom he was married in 1943, died in 1978. In 1979, he married the former Caroline Mottram, who predeceased him in 1995.
Walter was the son of Etelka (Liddle) and Felix Schumann, a German immigrant and grandson of composer Robert Schumann and his pianist wife, Clara. He was born in Bronxville, N.Y., in 1915, and grew up in Yonkers, where he became an award-winning pianist while still in grade school. Before he graduated from high school, Mr. Schumann organized his own dance band, playing in clubs throughout Westchester County.
He began his newspaper career in the late 1930s as an advertising space salesman at the New York Sun. He volunteered for military service in 1942, and continued his journalistic path by founding and editing a daily newspaper, the Sunsetter, while assigned to the 13th Army Air Corps Fighter Command in the South Pacific, a unit that was awarded 11 battle stars.
After the war, Mr. Schumann returned to the Sun until it was sold in 1950, when he formed his own printing company in Manhattan. In 1959, the Schumanns became year-rounders at their Shelter Island home, after 13 years as summer residents. Surprised by the interest in the Pennysaver news sheet he published, Mr. Schumann ventured to try a weekly newspaper, after several others had failed in the past. Because mailing within Suffolk County was free in those days with a bulk-rate permit, he was able to coax nearly 300 subscribers that first summer to continue receiving weekly news of Shelter Island, year-round for the princely sum of $3. By the time he retired for health reasons and sold the paper in 1973, The Shelter Island Reporter's subscription list had reached 2,000, more than the Island's year-round population, a benchmark of which he was very proud.
In 1987, Mr. Schumann returned to the editorial field to write his weekly column, "An Ear to the Ground," for The Suffolk Times until failing eyesight forced him to submit his last column on Feb. 14, 1991. Later that year, the Schumanns packed up and headed for a retirement village in Wilmington, N.C. At a farewell dinner, Mr. Schumann was presented with a plaque that reads: "To Walter Schumann, in appreciation for telling the truth to Shelter Island." It became one of his most prized possessions.
After his wife, Caroline, died suddenly in 1995, Mr. Schumann returned to Long Island to live with his daughter in Holtsville.
Memorial donations may be made to the Shelter Island Public Library.
DiGiovanni, Josephine
June 02, 1919 - October 23, 2001
Riverhead, New York
Funeral Mass: Saturday, 9:00 am October 27, 2001 at St. John Nepomucene R.C. Church, Bohemia, NY
Visitation: Thursday, 2-4:30pm & 7-9:30 pm October 25, 2001 at West Sayville
Visitation: Friday, 2-4:30pm & 7-9:30 pm October 25, 2001 at West Sayville
Interment: Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, Coram, NY
Loughlin, John F.
December 11, 1921 - December 12, 2001
East Patchogue, NY
Funeral Mass: 10 am Saturday, December 15, 2001 at St. Lawrence R.C. Church, Sayville, NY
Visitation: 2-4:30 pm & 7-9:30 pm, Friday, December 14, 2001 at West Sayville
Interment: St. Lawrence Cemetery, Sayville, NY
Cancellieri, Barbara Ann
July 13, 1946 - May 22, 2002
Sayville, New York
Funeral Mass: 10 am Saturday, May 25, 2002 at St. Lawrence RC Church, Sayville, NY
Visitation: 2:00-4:30 pm- 7:00-9:30 pm, Friday, May 24, 2002 at West Sayville
Interment: St. Charles Cemetery, Farmingdale, NY
Cricchio, Barbara G.
June 30, 1948 - May 16, 2002
West Islip, New York
Funeral Mass: 9:45 am Tuesday May 21, 2002 at St. Lawrence R.C. Church, Sayville, NY
Visitation: 7:00-9:30 pm Sunday May 19, 2002 at West Sayville
Visitation: 2:00-4:30 pm & 7:00-9:30 pm Monday, May 20, 2002 at West Sayville
Interment: Private Cremation
