John J. Lovett, 84, “Deacon Jack” of Southbury, Conn., a native of Brooklyn and Baiting Hollow, N.Y., devoted husband to Joan (Oswiecimski) Lovett for 61 years, passed away on Monday, June 27, 2022. 

John grew up in Brooklyn, where he met his wife, Joan, selling raffle tickets for the church. He was a son of two Irish immigrants, the late John and Mary “Molly” (O’Leary) Lovett. Always proud of his Irish heritage, he could usually be found playing some of his favorite Irish music at home. He was known to all for his great sense of humor, joke telling and positive disposition. 

A retired New York City firefighter (169 truck in Brooklyn) and fire marshal, John made one of the biggest arson arrests at a social club fire in New York City. He served in the Army National Guard and was a lifetime member of the Knights of Columbus. 

Extremely proud of his Catholic faith, he was a devoted deacon to the Catholic Church for 30 years, running many adorations and rosaries at his parishes, which included St. John’s in Riverhead. John studied at Immaculate Conception Seminary in Huntington, N.Y., for seven years to attain his goal of becoming a Catholic deacon. He passed his love of the Blessed Mother along to his children and grandchildren, for which we will be forever grateful. 

He was extremely loved by his entire family and we feel eternally blessed to have had him in our lives. Rest in peace, Dad; until we meet again may God hold you in his loving arms. 

Special thanks to Vitas Hospice for their exceptional care and our ability to keep Dad at home peacefully. Also, a big thank-you to the Connecticut Firefighters pipes and drums for their beautiful tribute to Dad on the day that he passed. 

In addition to his wife, John leaves his loving and cherished children: John Lovett and wife Joan, Elizabeth Maguire and husband James, James Lovett and wife Karina and Mary Gregory and husband Jesse; 13 adored grandchildren: Mary, Eileen, Erin, Colleen, Johnny, Brendan, Jack, Ryan, Kiernan, James-Peyton, Christian, Aileen and Ryan; proud great-grandfather to six beautiful children: Claire, Fiona, James, Thomas, Jack and Connor; his brother, William Lovett, and wife Janet. He was predeceased by his parents and sisters, Mary and Eileen Lovett. 

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 2, at St. Ann Church, 215 West St., Bristol, Conn. Burial, with military honors, will follow at St. Joseph Cemetery in Bristol. Relatives and friends may call at Funk Funeral Home, 35 Belle-vue Ave., Bristol, on Friday between 4 and 7 p.m. 

Memorial donations may be made to The Missionaries of the Holy Apostles Seminary, 22 Prospect Hill Road, Cromwell, CT 06416, to further the vocation of our Catholic priests. Please visit John’s memorial website at FunkFuneralHome.com.

This is a paid notice.

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Steven Berger of Mattituck, who went from a long and successful career as a broadcasting executive to becoming one of the most celebrated and admired photographers on the East End of Long Island, died Tuesday, June 28, 2022, at San Simeon by the Sound Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Greenport at the age of 78.

Like his hero, famed American landscape photographer Ansel Adams, Mr. Berger was noted for his dramatic black-and-white images, drawing enthusiastic audiences to his one-man shows. He also published two volumes of photographs featuring scenes — some familiar, others offbeat, even quirky — of his beloved North Fork. 

One of his most famous photographs showed an empty chair sitting alone along a row of grape vines, which he titled “Waiting for Merlot.” The photo and title were typical of his wit and engaging sense of humor.

For many years, he taught the art of photography to high school students, who came each week to his house, which featured a darkroom he arranged to have built. Not that he disparaged digital cameras, but he wanted his young students to also become proficient in taking pictures with film and learning how to develop them.

He didn’t get paid for teaching. In fact, an example of his generosity in so many areas, he actually paid the students to attend his classes in order to relieve them of other obligations and ensure they would take their lessons seriously. 

Several of the students he mentored went on to become successful photographers in their own right, including David Benthal, the awarded-winning photographer for the northforker, a magazine published by Times Review Media Group.

Upon graduating from Temple University in 1966, Mr. Berger was hired as a disc jockey at a radio station in Pittsburgh. That job ultimately led to his being named president and chief executive officer of a radio network owned by the Nationwide Insurance Company, headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. It was there he met and married Ellen Eberle.

After retiring from Nationwide in 1999, he and Ellen moved to the North Fork, where he was free to pursue taking pictures full time, an interest he had pursued earnestly even as a teenager in Atlantic City, N.J., where he was born on March 12, 1944, the son of Albert and Mary (Paul) Berger.

He is survived by his wife, Ellen Eberle Berger, well known for her active involvement in a broad range of local charities and causes, and a daughter from a previous marriage, Clare Berger, of St. Louis.

A gathering to remember Steve is scheduled for 3 p.m. Thursday, July 21, at Jamesport Meeting House.

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Gerald L. Fraser Jr. of Chantilly, Va., died on June 27, 2022, in the comfort of his home surrounded by loved ones. He was 87 years old. 

Jerry was born in Greenport, N.Y., on May 20, 1935, to Gerald and Ethel Fraser. He graduated from Riverhead (N.Y.) High School and he went on to attend Rider College in New Jersey. He lived on Eastern Long Island, N.Y., until the passing of his wife. He relocated to Chantilly in September 2021.

Jerry worked with his father in their family business, Sinclair Oil Refining Company. In 1968 he sold his oil business and became a stockbroker for Hardy and Co. in Southampton, N.Y. He went on to work for several other brokerage firms in Southampton, including Cowen and Co., Paine Webber and Prudential Securities. He retired from Smith Barney in Riverhead in 2008. 

Jerry loved spending time doing yard work and he was a skilled gardener. He was an avid stamp and coin collector throughout his life, and he was a car enthusiast, particularly in his younger years. 

He is survived by his son, Bruce Fraser, and daughter-in-law, Debra; his daughter, Cathy Fraser; his grandson Scott Fraser and his wife, Julia, and his grandson Christopher Fraser, his wife, Kaitlyn, and great-grandson Liam Fraser, all of Chantilly. He is also survived by his in-laws, Barbara Wienski of California; Charles Lapinski and his wife, Jean, of Aquebogue, N.Y.; and Sharon Yakaboski and her husband, Stanley, of Eastport, N.Y.

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Richard “Richie” Okula, 87, of Riverhead passed away peacefully at the Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Southampton on June 28, 2022.

Richie was born and raised on the Okula Farm in Calverton with his four brothers and five sisters. As a result, he instilled in all his children and granddaughters the love of gardening, the sea, fishing, boating, photography and, most importantly, his Polish heritage. Richie was a prominent figure at the Polish Town Civic Association, where he loved to be for the past 45 years. He was an integral part in keeping the Polish Town clock synchronized and working the Polish Town fairs (since its inception), and his love of polka dancing was evident when everyone would clear the dance floor for him and his lovely wife, Betty, to watch them glide across the floor.

The love of his faith shone through for over 25 years as he served as an usher at St. Isidore R.C. Church and volunteered at all the chicken barbecues.

Richie also had an extremely long career at Brookhaven National Laboratory, starting in the animal husbandry department; he aspired and excelled to a medical lab technician in tumor and cancer research, and ended his career as a cabinetry craftsman.

He was predeceased by his wife, Betty Okula; his mother and father, Leonora and Paul Okula; sisters Genevieve Graygor, Lottie Putzke, Helen Wesolowski Mauzara and Sophie Truskoloski; and brothers Joseph, Edmund, John and Stephen. He is survived by his children, Susanne Teuber (Timothy), Rick, Andrew (Elizabeth) and Kenn (Yoko); his granddaughters, Anna Hindman (Jess), Meagan Okula and Harmony Lim; his grandson, Shiloh Morse (Rebecca); and his sister Dolly Podlas.

The family will receive visitors Thursday, July 7, from 4 to 7 p.m. at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead. A funeral Mass will take place at 10 a.m. Friday, July 8, at St. Isidore R.C. Church in Riverhead.

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Catherine “Katie” Pierro died on Wednesday night, June 29, 2022, at the age of 94 at Acadia Center for Nursing and Rehabilitation in Riverhead, N.Y., where she had been living since September 2020. 

She was born Caterina Carmela Tripodi on Tuesday, 19 July 1927, in The Bronx, N.Y., daughter of Alfonso Rocco Rosario Tripodi (8 Oct 1879, Polistena, Calabria, Italy, to 1 May 1955, St. Albans, Queens, N.Y.) and Natalia Carini (9 May 1891, Salerno, Italy, to 3 Oct. 1977, Hampton Bays, N.Y). She will be buried at Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary Cemetery in Southampton, N.Y., together with her parents and her late husband, Joseph Anthony Pierro (2 April 1927, Ozone Park, Queens, to 9 April 2019, Southampton). 

Katie grew up during the Great Depression and World War II. When she was young the Tripodi family moved all around Manhattan and she often told stories of her childhood and the adventures that she and her siblings and cousins had. Eventually, by the time she was 12, the family settled in at 308 East 120th St. in “Italian Harlem.” She was the fourth youngest of 16 siblings and half-siblings (excluding those who did not survive infancy). 

By the age of 12 she and Joseph Pierro became a couple, and after a long teenage romance they were married in September 1948, at the age of 21, at Holy Rosary Church in Manhattan. Their four children were all born in New York City, and the Pierro family lived in Manhattan; St. Albans, Queens; Manhattan; and finally, from 1961, in Flanders, Riverhead, N.Y. She and Joseph “Chubby” Pierro were married for over 70 years when he died at age 92 in 2019. Catherine Tripodi Pierro loved her children, and while her husband did whatever he could to earn money to support the family, her job was to love and take care of all her children. That is what she devoted her life to.

“Kay” loved music, from Frank Sinatra to Johnny Mathis to the Beatles. And in spite of her major hearing loss, she danced the night away at age 90, moving to the thump of the beat at the wedding of her son Joe Pierro to Katherine Steinmuller in 2017. 

By the 1960s Katie and most of her brothers and sisters had settled in the Riverhead/Hampton Bays area of Long Island, and as adults they loved to get together, tell stories and play games while all their children ran around and had a great time together. And when she and her sisters started laughing, watch out — it was like an earthquake that was hard to quell. 

Catherine Tripodi Pierro is survived by one sister, Lena Cestaro (Pasqualina Tripodi, age 98); a sister-in-law, Alberta “Tita” Tripodi; and her children, Louis Pierro and his wife, Maureen Fahey, of Milton, Mass.; Joseph Pierro and his wife, Katherine Steinmuller, of Westhampton Beach, N.Y., Lorraine Ann Pierro of Riverhead and Robert Pierro and his fiancée, Robin Mudge, of Flanders. She is also survived by her grandchildren, Joseph, Natalie, Catherine, Evan, Jordan and Shana Pierro; two great-grandsons, Ewan and Gareth Thomas; many nieces and nephews and their families on both the Tripodi and Pierro sides; and so many other relatives in the New York and New Jersey area, as well as those in Italy that she never got the chance to meet. She will be remembered, loved and missed by all who knew her.

The family will receive visitors Thursday, July 7, from 4 to 8 p.m. at Tuthill-Mangano Funeral Home in Riverhead. A funeral Mass will take place at 9:30 a.m. Friday, July 8, at St. John the Evangelist R.C. Church in Riverhead, followed by interment at Sacred Hearts of Mary and Jesus Cemetery in Southampton.

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Riverhead resident Joan Hackal died June 28, 2022, at Surge Rehabilitation and Nursing. She was 74.

She was born Sept. 25, 1947, to Frank and Pauline Pierog.

She graduated from Washington Irving High School in 1965 and worked as a cook for Riverhead Central School District, from which she recently retired after 25 years.

Family said she enjoyed going to the beach and fishing with her son, Shaun Hackal.

Ms. Hackal is survived by her son, Shaun, and her daughter, Amber Hackal; and one grandchild.

McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead is assisting the family. Services will be held at a later date.

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Shirley L. Womack-Benton of North Carolina, formerly of Riverhead, died July 2, 2022.  

The family will receive visitors Friday, July 8, from 4 to 7 p.m. at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead and Saturday, July 9, at 10 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Riverhead, with a funeral service at 11 a.m. Burial will follow at Riverhead Cemetery.

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Riverhead resident Josephine Riviccio died July 7, 2022, at her home. She was 96.

The family will receive visitors Tuesday, July 12, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead. A funeral service will take place at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 13, at St. Isidore R.C. Church in Riverhead, followed by interment at Calverton National Cemetery.

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Ronald Goerler Jr. always knew his wife of 30 years, Joanne, was a “wonderful woman,” but it was at her wake last Tuesday that he truly realized just how many lives she had touched.

“She touched hundreds and hundreds of people,” Mr. Goerler said. 

Ms. Goerler, 57, died June 24, after battling myelodysplastic syndrome for four years. She is survived by their four children, Alexander, Anna, Sarah and Olivia.

The wake was held at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral home in Mattituck. The Liturgy of Christian Burial was held the next day at Mattituck’s Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church.

Myelodysplastic syndrome is a blood cancer in which blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature, according to the Mayo Clinic.

In September 2019, Ms. Goerler underwent a bone marrow transplant after four to five months of chemotherapy to prepare her blood. Last year, the News-Review reported on the Cutchogue resident’s journey through that procedure and documented her joy at reaching the one-year post-transplant mark. 

Despite being in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and experiencing severe side effects from the procedure, including rash, diabetes and a pulmonary embolism, her joy was visible a year later, when she met her donor, Beatrice Rodriguez, in person for the first time.

Her smile and contagious positivity that was never lacking is the legacy she left behind, her husband said.

“Every situation in life, she approached it always head on with a smile,” he said. “She just really wanted to do the best [she] possibly could, for anybody that she came across in life. She just was one of those individuals that really just had an amazing attitude; [she] could talk to anybody, could relate to anybody.”

Ms. Goerler was an educator at East Hampton’s John Marshall Elementary School for 30 years as well as office manager at her family’s business, Jamesport Vineyards.

Mr. Goerler said multiple generations of families that Ms. Goerler taught during her time at John Marshall Elementary attended the wake. He said he was overwhelmed to learn that about 800 people attended.

“It was an honor to meet all these people that showed up,” he said.

In addition to her husband and children, five siblings and several cousins, nieces and nephews, Ms. Goerler is survived by her parents, Joseph and Sabina Zuhoski of Cutchogue.

“We’re thankful to the community for honoring her; she’s left us such a big void in our life,” Ms. Zuhoski said. “We were a very close family.”

Mr. Goerler said that his journey with his wife is not over because she lives on through their children.

“My life there might have stopped with Joanne, [but] it continues to go forward through the children,” he said. “My journey begins now through them … My children have a piece of Joanne in them and that’s the part that’s going to be fun for me as they go forward. It’s not the end, it’s not over.”

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Josephine “Dolly” Riviccio, 96, of Riverhead, Long Island, passed away peacefully at her home with her family by her side. Dolly was the much-loved and adored wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Dolly was born in Brooklyn, N.Y. She was one of seven children born to Lucretia and Antonio Cino, and she was the beloved wife of Principio “Sonny” Riviccio for 61 years. She was predeceased by her brother, Charles Cino, and sisters, Mary Cannarozza, Connie Vaccaro, Stella Reganato, Frances Pica and Rose Attanasio.

Dolly will be forever remembered by her devoted and loving daughters and their spouses: Michele and Brian DeRosso, Gina and Joe Duggan, Lisa and John Kling, Leslie and Dan Hazel; and her son, Gerard, and Jackie Riviccio. She adored her grandchildren, Danielle, Gabrielle, Christopher, Brian, Kyle, Nicky, Cory, Lisamarie, Maya, Alyssa, Sonny and Russell; and great-grandson, Jax. 

Dolly’s warmth and wit touched the lives of many family and friends.

Dolly spent countless hours filled with love and laughter with her children, grandchildren and great- grandson. She enjoyed playing cards with her family and friends, Pokeno with her grandchildren, dancing, going to Atlantic City and playing the piano.

Friends and family are invited to attend the wake service at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead on Tuesday, July 12, from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. A funeral service will be held at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 13, at St. Isidore R.C. Church in Riverhead. Interment will follow at Calverton National Cemetery.

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Alfred W. Schlendorf of Riverhead passed away peacefully July 8, 2022, at his home surrounded by family. 

He was the beloved husband to Marie, adored father to Micah (Beth) Schlendorf and loving grandfather of four. 

Alfred was a safety engineer employed at Brookhaven National Laboratory and made Riverhead his home for over 30 years. 

Services will be private. Tuthill-Mangano Funeral Home in Riverhead is assisting the family.

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Riverhead resident Russell J. Flanigan died July 8, 2022, at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown. He was 79.

Born Jan. 29, 1943, in Brooklyn, he was the son of James and Marie (Murray ) Flanigan. He graduated from Mercy High School in 1961 and served in the U.S. Navy from 1963 to 1967.

Mr. Flanigan was a member of Sheet Metal Workers Local 28 and Iron Workers Local 580. Family said he enjoyed reading and was a fan of the New York Rangers, Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants.

He is survived by his children, Stephan, of Riverhead, Patrick, of South Carolina, Colleen Haas of Texas and Frank Longo of Georgia; six grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.

The family will receive visitors Wednesday, July 13, from 5 to 8 p.m. at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead.  A funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Thursday, July 14, at St. Isidore R.C. Church in Riverhead. Interment will follow at Calverton National Cemetery.

Memorial donations may be made to Wounded Warrior Project.

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Calverton resident Gary R. Nodine died July 9, 2022, at Peconic Bay Medical Center. He was 69.

He was born Aug. 28, 1952, in Riverhead, to Russell and Doris (Kohn) Nodine.

He graduated from Riverhead High School and worked as a maintenance repairman for Suffolk County, as well as bartending at the Village Crossroads for several years.

He enjoyed fishing and boating and having lobster parties and was a fan of the New York Yankees.

Predeceased by his parents, he is survived by his sisters, Janice (Buzz) Chew of Mattituck and Laurel (Mike) Martin of Florida; and several nieces and nephews.

The family will receive visitors Saturday, July 16, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead, where funeral services will take place at 2:30 p.m.

Memorial donations may be made to North Fork Animal Welfare League.

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Frances J. Stelzer, a lifelong Mattituck resident, died Monday, July 4, 2022. She was 90 years old.

Frances was born Oct. 16, 1931, in Greenport, N.Y., to Josephine Anna (Zaweski) and Alex H. Zanieski Sr. She was one of four children. Raised in Mattituck, she graduated from Mattituck High School.

On April 18, 1953, at Our Lady of Ostrabrama R.C. Church in Cutchogue, she married the love of her life, Carl E. Stelzer Sr., and together they had four children and made their home in Mattituck. 

Frances was a stay-at-home mom and sold Avon products when she was not spending time with her family. She was a member of Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church, a member of the Mattituck Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary and a member of Sacred Heart School Mothers Club.

Predeceased by her husband, Carl Sr., and siblings Dorothy Smith and Anthony Zanieski, she is survived by her children, Laura Reilly (Norman) of Mattituck, Carl E. “Eddie” Stelzer Jr. of Mattituck, Teresa Romanski (Thomas Sr.) of Riverhead and Barbara Dammers (Keith) of Calverton; grandchildren Thomas Romanski Jr., Caron Reilly, Kelly Hickey, Diana Van Vliet, Jacqueline Reilly, Kenneth Reilly, Brianna Dammers and Veronica Stelzer; great-grandchildren Aiden Reilly, Declan Van Vliet and Callan Van Vliet; and brother Alex H. Zanieski Jr. (Joan) of Mattituck.

The family received visitors July 7 at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck. Funeral services were held July 8 at the funeral home, with Father Ryszard Ficek officiating. Interment followed at Sacred Heart R.C. Cemetery in Cutchogue.

Memorial donations may be made to East End Hospice Kanas Center for Hospice Care.

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Kathleen Rowan Neumann of Mattituck, New York and Jupiter, Fla., died Sunday, July 10, after a courageous battle with cancer. 

She had a great many roles — daughter, sister, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, friend, educator, canasta player, golfer, artist, book clubber — and lived each day to the fullest, her abundant love and enthusiasm overflowing. 

She is survived by her six children, Cecilia, James, Denise, Michael, Margaret and Patricia; their spouses, Robert, Tara, James, Beth, Terry and Mark; her 16 grandchildren, Kyra, Peter, Hayley, Curtis, Marion, Ethan, Lily, Amelia, Mikayla, Aidan, Luke, Holden, Barron, William, Brett and Delia; and her step-grandchildren, Kathryn and Robert, and their children. She also leaves behind her much younger brother, James Rowan, and his wife, Lorenza, as well as many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her beloved husband of 43 years, Gerard “Rod” Neumann, as well as her sisters, Monica Noss and Judith Rowan. 

Family and friendship were cornerstones of Kathy’s life. She loved holding court at a crowded dinner table, trying to solve the world’s challenges through meaningful, often boisterous conversation, and then attempting to beat Rod during a heated post-prandial game of Scrabble (he rarely opened vistas for her obscure seven-letter words …) 

Kathy was born in Jamaica, Queens, to Vincent and Marion Rowan. She was the second of four children. A lover of literature, she attended Rosemont College, becoming president of her class in her senior year. After raising her children, Kathy earned her master’s in English from Fordham University. She spent her early career writing for Look Magazine and The Miami Herald and for Robert Montgomery Presents, a live television show, and later served as an adjunct professor of English at Ramapo College. 

While Kathy enjoyed a lifetime of learning, her greatest joy was being the wife of Rod, mother of her “six pack,” and GK (Grandma Kathy) to her grandkids. She lived life with faith, a sense of humor, a love of foxes and unparalleled zest, including for cold-water plunges into the Long Island Sound. She never lost her desire to make the world a better place through prayer and acts of kindness. 

Her family will welcome friends at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck, N.Y., on Thursday, July 14, from 4 to 7 p.m. A Mass of the Resurrection will be offered at Our Lady of Ostrabrama R.C. Church in Cutchogue, N.Y., at 10:30 a.m. Friday, July 15, and may be viewed remotely via this link: Live (olochurch.org). 

In lieu of flowers, Kathy’s family requests that donations be made in her name to her alma mater, Rosemont College (rosemontcollege.wufoo.com/forms/support-the-rosemont-experience-fund-qu6ntep0x9660d) or to a cause close to her heart, Friends of the Children (friendsofthechildren.secure.nonprofitsoapbox.com/donate-2022).

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Mary M. Christian of Southold died peacefully in her sleep on Thursday, June 30, 2022. She was 77 years old.

Mary was born March 15, 1945, in Bayside, Queens, N.Y., to Hope (Prior) and C. Grey Smith. She was one of six children. She grew up in Bayside and lived in New Hyde Park, N.Y., after that. She summered in Southold her whole life, and eventually moved there in 2018.

In 1965 she married the love of her life, Robert C. Christian. She was a stay-at-home wife and homemaker. She also took care of her mother and mother-in-law.

Predeceased by her husband of 50 years, Robert, and siblings Carol Smith, Grey Smith and Hope Smith Behringer, she is survived by her brothers John Smith and Bob Smith and numerous nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews who loved her so much. She was there for them always.

The family received visitors July 9 at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold, where funeral services were also held, with Monsignor Joseph Staudt officiating. Interment followed at Saint Patrick’s R.C. Cemetery.

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Beloved mother, grandmother and friend, Anita Moran of Peconic went to her heavenly home on the morning of July 11, 2022 at the age of 87. 

Anita grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., where she attended Saint Angela Hall and graduated with a B.A. in education from Fordham University in 1956.

She then taught elementary school in Valley Stream, N.Y., and Cutchogue, N.Y. She also taught piano, a favorite passion of hers. Anita lived in Malverne and Sayville before moving to the North Fork in 1969. There she was an active member of Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church in Mattituck, N.Y., where she taught CCD for 20 years and served as a member of the consolation ministry.

Known for her kindness, gentleness, selflessness and joyful demeanor, she brought smiles to everyone she encountered and was loved by all who knew her. Through the years, her home had become a gathering place for family and friends. You could always find a full house for a famous “Grammy” waffle on a summer morning. 

She’ll be greatly missed by her children Doug (Mary Ann) and Carole; grandchildren Chelsea, Kristin, Erin, Megan, Sean, Mark, Caroline and Ryan; and many dear friends. She is now back in the arms of her beloved husband, George (1987) and her son Robbie (1986), as well as her parents. 

The family will receive visitors Friday, July 15, from 3 to 7 p.m. at DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck. A mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 16, at Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church in Mattituck, with interment to follow at Sacred Heart Cemetery in Cutchogue.

Memorial donations may be made to Our Lady of Good Counsel R.C. Church in Mattituck, Our Lady of Ostrabrama R.C. Church in Cutchogue, or East End Hospice Kanas Center for Hospice Care in Quiogue, N.Y. 

The family wishes to send a special thank you to the staffs at Stony Brook Eastern Long Island Hospital, Peconic Bay Medical Center and East End Hospice Kanas Center for Hospice Care for their care and compassion.

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Joseph E. Doherty, 94, of Mattituck passed away peacefully on July 15 ,2022. He was welcomed home to heaven by his mother, Frances, and his daughter Elizabeth. 

Joe is survived by his loving family, his wife, Virginia (nee Newman) of nearly 68 years; his children Peter Doherty, Anne Bialeski (Felix) and Eileen Cushman; his grandchildren, Steven Bialeski (Krystal), Michael Bialeski (Julia), Timothy Bialeski, Meghan Cushman, John Cushman (Taylor), Christopher Cushman, Andrew Cushman, Sara Doherty and Brian Doherty; and his great-grandchildren, John Bialeski, Elise Bialeski and Edward Vallone, and Logan Vallone. 

Joe was an Army Corporal in the Korean War, was the former owner of Riverhead Sporting Goods, and was a 49-year member of Mattituck Fire Department before going inactive at the age of 90.  

The family will receive visitors Monday, July 18, from 4 to 7 p.m. at DeFriest Grattan Funeral Home in Mattituck. Firematic services will follow. A private cremation will be held. 

Memorial donations may be made to East End Hospice or Mattituck Fire Department.

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Riverhead resident Raymond F. Rossi died June 14, 2022, at age 63.

Mr. Rossi was born Jan. 15, 1959, in Brooklyn to Richard and Judith (Sirico) Rossi. He worked as a mechanic at Wildwood Lanes in Riverhead.

He is survived by his brothers, Richard, of South Carolina and Robert, of Riverhead.

The family will receive visitors Saturday, July 23, from noon to 3 p.m. at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead.

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South Jamesport resident Robert J. Keller died July 14, 2022, at his home. He was 67.

The family will receive visitors Wednesday, July 20, from 4 to 8 p.m. at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home in Riverhead. A funeral service will take place at 10:30 a.m. Thursday, July 21, at St. Isidore R.C. Church in Riverhead, followed by interment at St. Isidore Cemetery.

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