Obituaries

Louis Trakis, a sculptor, painter, printmaker and cartoonist, died early in the morning of Wednesday, July 7, 2021 in Southampton. He was 94.

Reynold Ruffins, an honored commercial and fine artist whose experiences ranged from helping to form one of the most celebrated design studios in New York City to volunteering to design artwork for posters and greeting cards for a community organization in his beloved Sag Harbor, died on Sunday, July 11. He was 90 years old.

Nancy Williams of Sag Harbor died on March 5 at Stony Brook University Hospital, following a brief illness. She was 93.

Patricia Lynch, Fearless Journalist Who Took Down Cult Leaders, Dies At 82

Remembering A True Sag Harbor Character: Renowned Decoy Carver, Robert Hand Sr., Dies at 77

Former Assemblyman John L. Behan, Advocate For Veterans, Dies At 76

William F. McCoy, Jr. of Sagaponack, beloved husband of Barbara Brummer McCoy, passed away peacefully December 24 at the age of 91.  He was born on December 10, 1929 at the Norwegian Lutheran Hospital in Brooklyn to William F. and Marian (Jacobsen) McCoy of Bridgehampton.

Barry Lynwood Vaughn of Sag Harbor died at the East End Hospice Kanas Center on Quiogue January 24. He was 83.

Dr. Martin Shepard, a psychiatrist, author, and with his wife, Judith, a trailblazing publisher, has died. Dr. Shepard passed away at his home in Sag Harbor surrounded by family on December 17, 2020, after a brief illness. He was 86.

In an unexpected blow to the East End community, Ms. Spilka — a steadfast civic leader, role model and friend — died on December 28 after a short bout with metastatic lung cancer and was buried on January 3 at Mount Lebanon Cemetery in Queens.

Harriett Crippen Brown Gumbs, the matriarch and oldest female of the Shinnecock Indian Nation — a woman who lived her life as an educator, activist, feminist and historian — died on November 25 of natural causes. She was 99

Throughout the course of his long career, Keith Sonnier was known as an artist who broke new ground and embraced emerging technologies as well as non-traditional materials in his work. Mr. Sonnier, who lived in Bridgehampton, died on July 18 at Southampton Hospital. He was 78.

On Tuesday, July 21, at around 6:30 p.m., Mr. Murphy, the former editor of the Independent newspaper based in East Hampton, died at Stony Brook Southampton Hospital. He had been hospitalized on Friday and suffered a heart attack on Saturday morning, from which he never regained consciousness.

For 40 years, the Mark Humphrey Gallery was a Southampton Village fixture. Established in 1980 by Mr. Humphrey and his partner, Larry Rundie, as a purveyor of posters, prints, miscellaneous art objects and framing, the gallery shifted focus several times over the decades and carried works by some of the most successful artists of the last half century. On June 11, Mr. Humphrey died of complications from cancer at The Kanas Center for Hospice Care in Westhampton Beach. He was 71.

Elise Pickering Quimby, who left her mark on the Hampton Library as well as her many friends and acquaintances in her adopted Bridgehampton, died on May 3 in Washington, D.C.