Thomas J. Brogan, Jr.
Thomas J. Brogan, Jr. of Southampton, and New York, died Monday, April 9 [2001], at the age of 75.
Mr. Brogan was the president of Brogan Cadillac-Oldsmobile Company in Totowa, New Jersey. Up until January, Mr. Brogan was an active member of a three-generation Cadillac-Oldsmobile family. His father, Thomas J. Brogan Sr., began the family dealerships in 1927.
Mr. Brogan was honored Master Cadillac Dealer numerous times and was a member of Oldsmobile Elite. He was formerly on the board of the Better Business Bureau of New York and New Jersey; First Fidelity Bank, and served as president of Wholesale Auto Supply Company.
Mr. Brogan is survived by his wife, Patricia Kelly Brogan; two daughters, Susan Patricia Brogan and Kelly Brogan; a grandson, Nicholas Taylor Brogan, all of Florida and Southampton; a sister, Mrs. Joseph L. Ely of Virginia and New Jersey; a brother, J. Peter Brogan and his wife Claire of Florida and New Jersey; and his step-mother, Mrs. Thomas J. Brogan Sr., of Florida and Spring Lake.
The family will receive friends on Monday, April 16, from 2 to 5 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at Frank E. Campbell, 1076 Madison Avenue at 81st Street, New York. A memorial mass will be held on Tuesday at 11 a.m. at St. Thomas More Church, 65 East 89th Street.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Youth Counseling League, 386 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10016.
Bernard R. Comfort
Bernard R. Comfort of East Hampton, died on Sunday, April 8 [2001], at Southampton Hospital. He was 77.
Mr. Comfort was born in Sag Harbor, on September 4, 1923, to Edward and Sadie (Thomasson) Comfort. He attended Pierson High School and Champlain College.
Mr. Comfort worked at Bulova Watch and at Brookhaven Laboratory as a technical specialist. A veteran of World War II, he served in the Air Force and flew on one of the escort planes for the Enola Gay. Mr. Comfort was a member of the American Legion and the Disabled Veterans of America.
Mr. Comfort is survived by his wife, Judith (Olson) Comfort; a daughter, Nancy Comfort Orlando; two sons, Robert Comfort and James Comfort; a stepson, James E. Taber Jr.; a brother, Joseph Comfort, of Las Vegas; and several nephews and nieces. He was predeceased by another brother, Edward Comfort.
The family received friends on Monday at the Yardley and Pino Funeral Home in Sag Harbor. Funeral services were held on Tuesday at the funeral home with Reverend D. Price officiating. Interment was at Cedar Lawn Cemetery.
Donations may made to Disabled American Veterans Chapter 183, Riverhead, New York 11901; the Sag Harbor American Legion, Post Office Box 388, Bay Street, Sag Harbor, New York 11963; or to a charity of the donor’s choice.
Katie Hughes
Katie Hughes of Scuttle Hole Road, Bridgehampton, died on Tuesday, April 10 [2001], at the age of 85.
Funeral arrangements, under the direction of the J.M. O’Connell Funeral Home in Southampton, were incomplete at press time.
William C. Atkins
William C. Atkins of Hampton Bays, died at the age of 95 at the Westhampton Care Center in Westhampton on August 5 [2001].
Mr. Atkins was a retired captain of the Port for Royal Rotterdam Lloyd Shipping Company.
He is survived by Louise (Peg) nee Wold, his wife of 45 years; his daughter and son-in-law, Mary and Theo vanAspersen of Holland; his granddaughters, Janey Maartens and Mary and Nancy vanAspersen; and his great-granddaughters, Negan and Caitlin Maartens.
Visiting hours at the J. Ronald Scott Funeral Home at 20 Ponquogue Avenue in Hampton Bays were on Wednesday, August 8 and will also be on Thursday, August 9 from 1 to 2 p.m. Dr. Arnold Miller, former rector of the Hampton Bays United Methodist Church, will conduct a service at 2 p.m. following the visiting hour. A private cremation will follow at Washington Memorial Park in Coram.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Dominican Sisters Family Health Service in Hampton Bays.
Ruth S. Matula
Ruth S. Matula of Westhampton died at Central Suffolk Hospital on August 1 [2001] at the age of 80.
Born on September 13, 1920 in Orange, New Jersey, Mrs. Matula was a long-time resident of Westhampton.
Her husband Richard and her sister Jane Hildebrand survive her. Her sister, Nancy Sullivan, predeceased her.
Prayer services were held at the Follett & Werner Funeral Home on Thursday, August 2. A Mass of the Resurrection was celebrated at the Church of the Immaculate Conception on Friday, August 3 at 10 a.m. Interment followed at the Westhampton Cemetery.
Contributions in memory of Ruth Matula may be sent to the American Heart Association.
Anna M. Torres
29 Oct 1945 - 6 Aug 2001
Anna M. Torres, 55, of Westhampton, died in Central Suffolk Hospital after a long illness. She was born on October 15, 1945 [the Social Security Death Index shows her date of death as October 29, 1945] in California.
Mrs. Torres is survived by her children, Anna Torres of Westhampton, and Gene Torres, Dean Torres, and Carmela Torres, all of Florida; her sisters, Joyce and Linda; her brother, Bill; and her grandchildren, Paul Lara Janna Volz, Crystal Torres and Julianna Torres.
Funeral services were private and under the direction of Follett & Werner Funeral Home.
Pauline C. Blackburn
Pauline Claire Blackburn, formerly of Southampton, died Sunday, August 5, [2001] at Waveny Care Center in New Canaan, Connecticut. She was 93.
Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts on September 5, 1907, she was the daughter of Andrew A. and Katherine G. Burgoyne and had lived in Norwalk, Connecticut since 1992.
After graduating from the Boston Latin School, she moved to Southampton, where she lived for many years. She was a volunteer at Southampton Hospital and the Southampton Hospital Thrift Store and was an avid bridge enthusiast.
Mrs. Blackburn is survived by a daughter, Carol Fucigna Matz of Norwalk; four grandchildren; and 10 great-grandchildren. She was predeceased by her husband, Charles J. Blackburn, and a daughter, Dorothy Ellen Baab.
A memorial mass will be held on Thursday, August 16, at 11:15 a.m., at St. Matthew Church in Norwalk. Funeral arrangements were under the direction of the Collins Funeral Home in Norwalk.
Memorial donations to Waveny Care Center, 3 Farm Road, New Canaan, Connecticut 06840 would be appreciated by the family.
Gregory James
Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor, has established a fund to help defray funeral costs for the family of Gregory James, the Bay Street intern believed to have drowned last week in Bridgehampton.
Born December 13, 1977, Mr. James was a native of Little Rock, Arkansas. He was a senior in the theater program at the University of Central Arkansas and hoped to work in the theater as a lighting designer. This summer, he was working as a lighting intern at Bay Street. The staff at Bay Street plans to establish a scholarship fund in his name and is dedicating the upcoming production of “Hair” in his memory.
Mr. James is survived by his mother, Mabel James; an aunt, Verneice Nunn; and two younger brothers.
Contributions to the Gregory James Fund may be sent to Julie Fitzgerald, Bay Street Theatre, Post Office Box 810, Sag Harbor, New York 11963.
Joseph T. Lavinio
Joseph T. Lavinio died at his home on Elm Street, in Southampton, on Thursday, August 2, [2001] just 15 days before his 91st birthday.
Born in Brooklyn on August 17, 1910, he moved to Southampton with his parents, Stephen and Josephine, around 1913.
At an early age, he began an apprenticeship program in all phases of the building trades. Under his father’s tutelage, he began learning the skills he needed to become a master craftsman. Dr. Arnold Schaefer, a curator with the Smithsonian Museum, wrote that “Mr. Lavinio’s fireplaces were true to form and function but more importantly, they were artistry in stone.”
Examples of Mr. Lavinio’s work can be found throughout Southampton Town and eastern Long Island in public buildings and private homes. As a union member of Local 32, Bricklayers, Masons and Plasterers, he supervised the construction of facilities at Fort Hero, Plum Island, Westhampton Air Base, Brookhaven Laboratory, Town Hall and many of Southampton’s clubs, schools and post offices.
He applied his master craft skills for 70 years, “retiring,” according to his family, only when he was in his 80s. He passed his skills on to his son, Steve, who continues to operate the family business. Mr. Lavinio enjoyed reading about a variety of subjects, particularly history, and was a self-taught fresco painter.
He is survived by four children, Joseph, Stephen, Marilyn and Lauretta; a sister, Elizabeth; three brothers, Michael, Francis and Thomas; and three grandchildren.
Services were held on Monday at the J.M. O’Connell Funeral Home in Southampton. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the East End Hospice, Post Office Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, New York 11978; or AHRC, 762 Hamilton Avenue, Westhampton Beach, New York 11978.
William J. Kelly
