Obituary: Hiroko Smart

Hiroko Smart (nee Fujikawa), age 41, of Port Washington, died on July 12, 2011. She is survived by her husband Roy, her daughter Lisa, her parents Toshio and Masako, her siblings Akiko, Keiko and Takuya, nieces, and nephews. Funeral arrangements were handled by Austin F. Knowles Funeral Home, Port Washington. Interment was private.

Obituary: Marie Butcher

Marie Butcher, age 80 and former 32-year Port Washington resident died suddenly on July 8, 2011 at her home of two years in Knoxville, TN. She was a former member of Our Lady of Fatima Church in Port. Marie was a graduate of St John’s University and received her master’s degree from C.W. Post University. She was a retired teacher from the New York City School System with over 30 years service. Marie, a lifelong devout catholic, was active in her church, the Red Hat Club, and AARP while in New York. Marie is survived by her loving family: husband of 47 years, Lawrence “Larry” Butcher; sons and daughters-in-law, Steve and Kathy Butcher of Knoxville, Michael and Claudia Butcher of Syosset, Terrence Butcher of Pasadena, CA; sister, Myrna Farrington of Knoxville; brother and sister-in-law, Joseph “Joe” and Pat Robinson of San Diego, CA; several nieces and nephews. A remembrance and celebration service will be held at Our Lady of Fatima Church in Manorhaven on Saturday, July 23 at 11 a.m. with food and refreshments following in the church hall. Online condolences may be made at www.rose­mortuary.com.

Obituary: Albert Allen Patterson

Albert Allen Patterson, age 75, of Port Washington from 1970 through 2010, died on June 29, 2011. To be closer to family, he moved to Dallas, TX. He was born in Chappaqua, NY, on Sept. 22, 1935. He graduated from Cornell University and received a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering in 1957. He was married to Elizabeth (Betsy) Hyde Patterson. He worked for Stone & Webster Engineering.

Obituary: Eric Frank Gerst

Eric Frank Gerst passed away on June 21, 2011 in Venice, FL, where he lived since 2001 after residing for many years in Port Washington. Born March 23, 1918 in Nuremberg, Germany, he attended textile school in Reutlingen. Due to the rise of the Nazi party and Hitler’s anti-Jewish policies, in 1937 he emigrated to the U.S. and worked in the textile industry at American Bemberg Corp. in Tennessee.

Obituary: Betsy Lee McKay Commons

Betsy Lee McKay Commons, of Shelter Island, NY, and Jensen Beach, FL, formerly of Port Washington, passed away on June 28, 2011 at Peconic Bay Medical Center in Riverhead, surrounded by her immediate family. She was 78 years old. She was preceded in death by her husband, Dr. Leslie A. Commons, in November 2004. Betsy was born on Sept. 12, 1932, in Williamsport, PA, the daughter of the late Earl Z. McKay and Gladys Long McKay Fraser. She attended Lycoming College in Williamsport, PA, where her maternal grandfather, Dr. John J. Long was president. After attending Lycoming College, she enrolled in the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA, where she graduated with a degree as a dental hygienist. It was at the University of Pennsylvania that she met her future husband, Dr. Leslie A. Commons. Dr. Commons practiced dentistry in Port Washington with his brother, Dr. Richard G. Commons. Betsy is survived by her two children, Peter G. Commons of Shelter Island and John L. Commons of Oyster Bay, her sister Lynda McKay Browne of Heathsville, VA, and three grandsons, Kenneth, Mitchell, and Matthew. Funeral arrangements were handled by the Austin F. Knowles, Inc. Funeral Home, Port Washington. A religious service was held at the funeral home on July 2. The interment followed at Nassau Knolls Cemetery.

Obituary: Dorothy O’Rourke Byrne

March 15, 1920 – June 22, 2011

Dottie was a lively and beautiful lady who lived most of her life in Port Washington and died peacefully at age 91 at the Sands Point Health Center. Born in Queens, Dottie and her husband Joe moved to Port Washington in the 1950s to be close to her brother and his family. She started a long administrative career at Fairchild Corporation on Long Island, worked at her brother Frank O’Rourke’s real estate agency, and then for the Folan Agency until her retirement at age 80. She was known for her lively twinkle, her sharp memory, and her great family stories. She was a wonderful writer, loved to patronize local businesses, and was very close with family. During her 10 years at the nursing home she was visited regularly by relatives and friends.

Obituary: Lewis J. Merrim

Dec. 19, 1922- June 12, 2011

Photojournalist and video producer, sergeant in WWII First Special Services Force, Lewis J. Merrim, a noted photojournalist whose work appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Colliers, Life and Look magazines, died peacefully at home on June 12, 2011 in La Jolla, CA. He was 88.  He lived in Port Washington for 30 years.

A founding member of the American Society of Magazine Photographers, Mr. Merrim was also president of M&R Productions in New York, a producer of commercials and educational films for corporate clients. After a successful career in photography, Mr. Merrim moved to La Jolla in 1985. There he became an active volunteer in the media department of the Veterans Administration Medical Center.

Obituary: Gustave H. Lockerman

Gustave H. Lockerman, 63, died on May 2, 2011 at Elliot Hospital after a sudden illness. He was born in Glen Cove on Sept. 2, 1947 to Albert and May (Carlson) Lockerman. Raised in Roslyn, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was a veteran of the Vietnam War. After his discharge, he resided in New York where he worked at Green Cab in Port Washington and California before moving to Manchester, NH.

Obituary: Shirley Stevenson

1918 - 2011

Longtime Sands Point resident Shirley Stevenson, 92, died on June 16, 2011 in Princeton, where she was living with her husband of 60 years, Nikolai Stevenson. They had first met in 1931 - in the seventh grade, in Montclair, NJ - and  shared memories for over 80 years, marrying in 1951. They moved to Sands Point in 1961 and lived in Port Washington until 1999. Shirley worked from 1970 to 1996 in the social work department at St. Francis Hospital, helping countless patients deal with their illnesses and their recovery. She was active in the League of Women Voters and St. Stephen’s Church. She is survived by her husband, Nikolai Stevenson (Princeton), her three children, Nanette (Anchorage, AK), Matthew (Geneva, Switzerland), and Julie (New Paltz, NY) and her seven grandchildren, Helen Stevenson, Laura Stevenson, Henry Stevenson, Charles Stevenson, Will Meyer, Andrew Meyer, and Natalie Meyer. Her house on Barkers Point Rd. had early associations with the Algonquin Round Table, and she kept those literary traditions alive with summer parties that involved softball, croquet, and long evenings of lively conversation. She loved the view of Manhasset Bay at sunset, and she made thousands of drives to the Port Washington railroad station, to welcome her family home from either a day in the city or a trip around the world. A memorial celebration will be held at the Windrows in Princeton on June 25 at 11 a.m. and her husband can be reached at 1-609-919-0353.

Obituary: Anna S. Heinzerling

Anna S. Heinzerling

Anna S. “Lela” (Westergaard) Heinzerling, 89, passed peacefully at home on June 10, 2011. Anna, a longtime resident of Port Washington, leaves behind her husband, Ralph (also of Port Washington), sister, Thora Frank (Chevy Chase, MD), children, Laura Berzofsky (Westfield, NJ), Steve Heinzerling (Brooklyn), Nina Pepek (West Springfield, MA), grandchildren, Jessica Hellman, Sabrina Hellman Gewertzman, Scott Berzofsky, Caroline Pepek, great-grandchild, Clyde Gewertzman and dear friends, Kari Lynch (Ridge, NY) and Faith LeSauvage (Port Washington). She is predeceased by her parents, Johannes and Astrid (Stang) Westergaard (Port Washington) and by her brother, John Westergaard (New York, NY).