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Mary M. Pieslak, 84
11/13/10 — Mary M. Pieslak passed away on Friday November 5 after a courageous battle with cancer.
Mary’s favorite times were her 40 summers spent on Block Island, where she enjoyed the slower pace, and most of all, her Block Island friends.
She was born in Lackawanna, N.Y. She graduated from Saint Elizabeth’s College, and began work for the N.J. School for the Deaf where she went on to become the principal of the Vocational Department before her retirement.
She was predeceased by her husband Raymond Pieslak Sr., and sons Raymond Jr. and James Pieslak.
Mary is survived by two sons and daughters-in-law Michael and Doris Pieslak of Setauket, N.Y., Kenneth and Doreen Pieslak of Ewing, N.Y. one daughter and son-in-law Kathleen and Manker Mills of Ewing, N.Y.; her grandchildren Matthew, Kevin, Megan, Christopher, Patten, Jessica, and Robin; one brother, William Cousins Jr. of Naples, Fla., and many nieces and nephews.
A memorial celebration will be announced at a later date to be held during the summer of 2011 on Block Island.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to St. Andrew Catholic Church, P.O. Box 279, Block Island, R.I., 02807.
Ross Barrow Campbell, 48
11/20/10 - Ross Barrow Campbell of West Side Road passed away on November 7, 2010.
Born June 19, 1962 in Mt. Kisco, N.Y., he was the son of the late John B. Campbell and Patricia R. Campbell of Spring Street.
Ross grew up in Oxford, Conn.
He was educated at Oxford Elementary School, Oxford, Conn., Milford Academy, Milford, Conn., and The Gunnery, in Washington, Conn.
Before moving to Block Island in 1997 Ross had been employed as a salesman at a Stratford, Conn. auto dealership as well as Avco Lycoming.
On Block Island he was self-employed doing brush cutting and related work.
He assisted his father with the Crystal Spring water delivery business.
His hand-made walking sticks were sold in many local shops.
An avid motorcyclist, Ross belonged to Harley Davidson clubs.
He collected and built scale motorcycle models, along with an extensive collection of “Dyecast Collectable” foreign and domestic automobiles.
His interest in exotic animals included owning and caring for his iguana, snakes, parrot and tropical fish.
Ross enjoyed all Block Island had to offer — sailing, fishing, hiking and snorkeling, but mostly the camaraderie of friends and family.
He is survived by his mother Patricia R. Campbell; sisters Audrey Campbell Rostkowski, Suzanne Campbell Ellis and Bethany Campbell Coviello; brother-in-laws Stephen Rostkowski and James Ellis; nieces and nephews Cara, Amy, James, Bruce, Brian, Campbell and Gwenneth.
On November 14, the ashes of both Ross and his father were interred in the family mausoleum at Kensico Cemetery, Valhalla, N.Y.
There will be a gathering at the 1661 Inn on Monday, November 22 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. to honor the lives of both Ross and John.
T. Robley Louttit Jr., 77
11/6/10 — Spring Street summer resident T. Robley Louttit Jr., passed away peacefully on October 31.
Born in Providence in 1933, he was the husband of Carol Louttit of Barrington for 52 years and the son of late T. Robley and Charlotte Louttit.
He was a 1955 graduate of Brown University, served in the Air Force and spent most of his career as president of the Louttit Corporation, a third generation family business that was one of the largest laundry and dry cleaning operations in New England.
Louttit was an active member of many organizations, boards and community activities including the Roger Williams Hospital, The Turk's Head Club, the Providence Boys Club, John Hope Settlement House and the Alumni Association of Brown University.
He was a past president of the Board of Trustees for St. Andrew's School in Barrington as well as a member of the Barrington Town Council.
His pride and joy was spending time with his family at their Spring Street summer home purchased in 1987. He loved the outdoors and spent hours working around his property or enjoying the beautiful Block Island beaches.
Besides his wife, he leaves Tom Louttit and Pam Brandvik, Jon and Marion Louttit and Carolyn and Todd McGarry, all of Barrington, and Drew and Tracy Louttit of Malta, N.Y. He also leaves a sister, Lee Tauck of Sanibel Island, Fla. and was the beloved grandfather to 10 grandchildren.
A memorial service will be held Saturday, November 6, at 11 a.m. at the Barrington Congregational Church. Burial will be private.
Ellen C. Ross, 50
Ellen C. Ross, daughter of Warren and Lucile Ross of Rye, N.Y., sister of Johanna Ross of Block Island and Catherine Ross of Austin, Tex., and Sanibel Island, Fla., died of cancer July 3 after a short illness.
Ross grew up in Rye, where she attended Osborn School and Rye Middle and High Schools, eventually graduating from Hackley School in Tarrytown.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from Connecticut College and a Ph. D. in physical therapy from New York University.
For the past 12 years, Ross lived in Basking Ridge, N.J., with her husband, Robert Casar, where they raised their children Allison, 13, and Jason, 10.
She taught at Columbia University and most recently at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where she was a professor and director of post-professional physical therapy education.
She was an avid gardener and showed great concern for the world around her.
She enjoyed the ocean, hiking and bicycling, particularly on Block Island, where both her sister and her family have homes.
Ross’s family, in the words of her son Jason, would like everyone to know that “she was the kindest mother, wife, sister, daughter and friend anyone could ever have. She always put others before herself. She loved her family very much and inspired all of us to be much better people.”
Like her sisters, Ross attended Sunday school at the Community Unitarian Church in White Plains, N.Y.
A memorial service will be held there Sunday, September 9, at 2 p.m.
For directions, visit the church website, www.cucwp.org.
In lieu of flowers the family asks that contributions be made to one of two charities being established in Ross’s name.
The first (https://www.againstmalaria.com/ellenross) was chosen by her children and supports the effort to provide mosquito netting to malaria- prone areas.
The second is a scholarship established by her colleagues in the doctoral program of physical therapy in her name at University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. Call 973-972-5272 for details.
Esther Brownstein, 95
11/6/10 — Esther Brownstein, of Washington, D.C. and Lakeside Drive, died November 1, 2010, at her island home with her family at her side, from complications of a stroke suffered in August.
Although her mainland home was in Washington, her son Michael said his mother passed away where she wanted most to be — on Block Island — within sight of her treasured gardens.
Esther was born on November 21, 1914, in New York City.
As a youngster she lived on her grandfather’s farm in Stepney, Conn., and attended school in Ansonia, Conn.
Unable to pursue a college degree after the 1929 crash, and rejected by nursing school as too short, she attended business school and became a typist-bookkeeper.
Esther passed a civil service exam in Connecticut, and journeyed to Washington, alone, without any contacts, to find a clerical job among the many offered by the burgeoning federal agencies of the New Deal.
In Washington, she met her future husband, Philip Brownstein, who came to the city from a small farming community in Indiana, also lured by the ferment of New Deal days.
They began joint careers, Phil as an attorney, Esther as a government clerk.
She then began a climb up a career ladder almost unknown to women of that era, and retired 30 years later as a key aide and “right hand gal” to Rep. Carl Perkins of Kentucky, head of the House of Representatives’ Labor and Education Committee.
Esther and her husband discovered Block Island in 1948 as part of Phil’s hunt for good fishing vacation spots.
The stayed first at Cuttings Cottages with their son Michael and there made the first of many island friends and enjoyed the island’s pleasures.
It was at Cuttings that they began to form their wide circle of island friends, including Sid and Zenith Gross, Web Cutting, the late Paul Fillipi and island artist John Urbain.
Phil, Sid and John were avid fishermen, but diminutive Esther, not to be outdone by the men folk, was a fine “fisherperson” herself, wading into the surf barefoot and in shorts as no waders could be found small enough to fit her, catching her share of stripers — and then doing what the men did not: cooking them in a variety of dishes that made her kitchen famous.
They built their Lakeside Drive home in the late l960s and Esther soon became known as an outstanding gardener.
She had several gardens, including a large vegetable garden, a flower garden, her famous blueberry “orchard,” and what today would be called a “meditation” garden — with benches in a small maze for quiet times.
Phil died in 1999, but Esther and her family remained close to the island as her gardens continued to bloom each spring, and children and friends came to the blueberry patch with buckets and pails.
Esther is survived by her son Michael and daughter-in-law Eva Mezey; and three granddaughters, Alice, Sarah and Anna.
Survivors include her long-time caregiver, Betty Lincoln, of Block Island.
Funeral arrangements will be announced at a later date.
Contributions may be made to the Block Island Conservancy or the Block Island Medical Center.
Virginia Mazzeo, 42
Virginia "Ginger" Mazzeo passed away Saturday, September 15, at South County Hospital, Wakefield.
She was born in Middletown, Conn., on July 7, 1965, the daughter of Mary Ann Gregory of Plainfield, Conn., and Peter Mazzeo of Clinton, Conn.
She is survived by two brothers, Christopher Mazzeo of Clinton and Edward Mazzeo of Mattituck, N.Y.
She was predeceased by her daughter, Emily, December 26, 2005.
A celebration service will be held Wednesday, September 26 at 11 a.m. at the Hygeia House.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Church of St. Ann’s By-The-Sea, P.O. Box 622, Block Island, RI, 02807, or the Block Island Conservancy, P.O. Box 84, Block Island, RI, 02807.
Edward John Galla, 77
Edward John Galla, MD, of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., died at home on February 20.
He is survived by his wife of 46 years, Cynthia.
Dr. Galla was born in Bridgeport, Conn., the son of the late John J. and Gazel B. Galla.
After graduating in 1948 from Bridgeport’s Warren Harding High School, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Fairfield University in 1952 and a Doctor of Medicine degree from St. Louis University School of Medicine in 1956.
After interning at the Albany Medical Center in Albany, N.Y., from 1956-1957, Dr. Galla undertook a year of Pathology Residency at Bridgeport Hospital from 1957-1958.
He then spent two years as a First Lieutenant in the United States Navy, during which he was the Officer in Charge at Byrd Station in Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year.
Upon leaving the service, Dr. Galla began his residency in Neurosurgery at the Albany Medical Center in 1960.
During residency, he met the former Cynthia Leahy of Loudonville, N.Y.
They were married on October 28, 1961.
After completing his Chief Residency at the Albany Medical Center in 1965, he became the sole practitioner of Neurosurgery at the Berkshire Medical Center in Pittsfield, Mass., and practiced there until 1984.
At that time, he retired from Neurosurgery and practiced Emergency Medicine until his retirement from medicine in 1994.
Dr. Galla and his wife built a home on Block Island, and lived there until 2007, when they relocated to Palm Beach Gardens.
He was an active member of the Block Island Gardeners for many years, helping to design and install Nicholas Ball Park in front of Harbor Baptist Church.
He is survived by five children: Catherine G. Ruppe of Sammamish, Wash.; Edward J. Galla Jr. of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass.; Stephen T. Galla, DMD of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.; Elizabeth J. Galla of Bellevue, Wash.; and Christopher H. Galla of Denver, Colo. He also leaves five grandchildren.
Services will be private.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the National Children’s Cancer Society, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, or the Block Island Medical Center.
F. Albert Starr, 91
05/29/10 - Albert F. “Al” Starr of Cranston and Skipper Island, whose Block Island heritage reached back to the first settlers in 1661, passed away peacefully after a long illness in Tiverton on May 22, 2010.
Born in Providence, he was a son of the late Charles Starr and Rose (Champlin) Starr.
He was the husband of Norma (Bugbee) Starr for 45 years until her death in 1995.
F. Albert graduated from the University of Rhode Island the Boston University School of Law.
He was a self employed Rhode Island attorney for almost 60 years.
Starr was New Shoreham’s town solicitor from the mid-1960s until 1980.
He played instrumental roles in the establishment of the island’s first zoning ordinances, the creation of the sewer system, the Shellfish Commission and the Block Island Conservancy.
In 1971, after his son Andrew was killed in a tragic accident, Al and Norma looked for a way to commemorate their son, according to daughter Nancy Starr.
Andrew, who was a lobsterman, had always lamented the lack of public access to the northern part of the Great Salt Pond.
Al arranged to purchase the strip of land creating access to what is now known as “Andy’s Way,” and donated it to the town in Andrew’s memory.
He later saw that much of the area connecting Andy’s Way, Beane Point and Skipper Island remained protected.
He was a member of the RI Bar Association, member and past Governor for the Mayflower Society, active all his life in St. Ann’s by the Sea on Block Island and St. David’s on the Hill Episcopal Churches, and active in land conservation on Block Island and throughout the state of Rhode Island.
F. Albert leaves a daughter, Nancy Starr and her husband John M. Gorman of Tiverton.
He was the father of the late Andrew D. Starr.
He leaves a grandson, Gregory Champlin Kyte, and a sister, Josephine Dugan of Block Island.
He was the grandfather of the late Andrew Starr Kyte.
His funeral will be held on Friday, May 28, 2010 at 1 p.m. at St. Ann’s By the Sea Episcopal Church, 25 Spring Street, Block Island.
Burial will follow in Island Cemetery, In lieu of flowers, gifts in his memory to St. Ann’s by the Sea Episcopal Church, P.O. Box 622, Block Island, RI 02807, or Block Island Conservancy, 835 Ocean Avenue, Block Island, RI 02807 would be appreciated.
