MaryAnn Nilsen

MaryAnn Nilsen, of Terryville, passed away peacefully in her sleep on the morning of Oct. 29, after an ongoing illness. She was 87.

She was born in Brooklyn to Francis and Margaret O’Sullivan. When she was 18, she met the love of her life, Richard Francis Nilsen, through a blind date. Shortly after their meeting, Richie was drafted by the U.S. Army during the Korean War and was sent overseas. MaryAnn found a job in New York City working for Columbia Gas Pipeline Company as a statistical typist during the war. 

When Richie returned, they rekindled their relationship but soon afterward MaryAnn was diagnosed with tuberculosis and was sent to Homer Folks Tuberculosis Hospital in Oneonta. Richie visited her every week, not missing a single visit over 54 weeks. He proposed to her while she was still at the hospital. After recovering from a new but radical surgery, MaryAnn returned to Brooklyn where she married Richie and they embarked on a 63-year journey and a wonderful marriage. 

Richie and MaryAnn eventually moved to Terryville where they added three more children to their already growing family. She devoted her life to raising her family and participating in the church, initially Infant Jesus Church and then Saint Gerard Majella as founding members. She enjoyed drawing and painting and being with family and her grandchildren. She planned many Fourth of July barbecues over the years, which she cherished as it helped bring her family together. 

MaryAnn leaves behind six married children, Joseph and Denise Nilsen of Livermore, California; Michael and Diana Nilsen of Brooklyn; Francis and Sheryl Nilsen of Sound Beach; Kathleen and Jim Rieger of Garden City; Thomas and Gina Nilsen of Auburn; Rich and Marta Nilsen of Tarpon Springs, Florida; her brother Peter O’Sullivan; 17 grandchildren; six great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews. 

A wake was held Monday, Nov. 4, at Bryant Funeral Home in East Setauket, followed by a funeral Mass Tuesday morning, Nov. 5, at Saint Louis de Montfort R.C. Church in Sound Beach. Her final resting place is next to her husband Richie at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Coram.

Dr. William Colden

Dr. William W. Colden died peacefully Oct. 10 with family by his side. He was a respected and dedicated pediatrician for over 40 years. 

He was born and grew up in Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn College before serving in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. He was deployed to Germany where he spent his tour of duty as a public health inspector.

Following military service, he attended medical school in Lausanne, Switzerland, before completing his pediatric residency training at Brookdale Hospital in Brooklyn. At the start of his residency, he met and married his wife Barbara (née Rosendorf). They celebrated their 56th anniversary in July. 

Coinciding with the completion of his training and the birth of two children, Barbara and Bill moved to Setauket to start a medical practice as well as a new life in the suburbs. Their family became complete with the addition of two more wonderful children. 

Life was good, with many fabulous friends and colleagues who were like family. Holidays, trips and the good and bad times were shared. Friends and fellow pediatricians were an important part of his life. The practice that was started in Setauket was moved to Port Jefferson. He was on the medical staff of St. Charles Hospital and John T. Mather Hospital in Port Jefferson and worked at the Stony Brook University Medical Center in Stony Brook. He practiced for more than 40 years and was dedicated to his patients and their families. 

Colden was a collector and a naturalist. As a child, it was coins and stamps. When he was older, he amassed an extensive scallop shell collection. He then became interested in shore bird and duck decoys and had a large, beautiful and varied collection. He was a long-standing member of the Long Island Decoy Collectors Association and enjoyed the exchange of information and camaraderie.

He adored his family. Being a parent to four was not always easy, but he taught, loved and encouraged. He instilled a desire for knowledge and education, as well as a sound work ethic. He was very proud of the adults his children had become. 

He was a loving, loyal, kind and protective husband, father and friend. We all know life is a roller coaster of ups and downs, sick and good health and good times and not so good times. Life has never been dull. Illness did not define the man. In spite of the many serious health issues he had for many years, life had been good. He tried his best and his hardest and did live a rich, full, happy, loving and caring life. 

Colden was the beloved husband of Barbara; the devoted father of Spencer (Lana), Garrett, Daryl (Kristin Tallman) and Carena Lowenthal (Roger); the loving grandfather of Olivia, Sofia, Laurel and Noah; the adored brother of Sheila (Irving) Troob; and was a caring uncle, cousin, colleague and friend.

Funeral services were held at the North Shore Jewish Center where a touching and beautiful service was conducted by Rabbi Aaron Benson.

Thomas James Pentony

Thomas James Pentony, a Korean War Marine veteran who lived for decades in Korea and Southeast Asia, died on Oct. 30 at the VA Medical Center in Northport. Mr. Pentony, who was also awarded a Bronze Star for Valor in Vietnam and received numerous other medals and commendations, had lived in Levittown since leaving Korea for the last time two years ago. He was 87 years old. 

Born in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Mr. Pentony joined the Marines in October 1950, just months after a North Korean attack had launched the Korean War and saw brutal combat during his three-year enlistment. British journalist Max Hastings, in his 1987 history “The Korean War,” writes that Sgt. Pentony, then an artillery forward observer with the 5th Marines, “had found boot camp untroublesome after the rigors of a Catholic upbringing in New Jersey, ‘where the nuns taught you that you would die as a martyr if you went fighting communism.’”

After six years in civilian life, Pentony rejoined the Marines in 1959, eventually serving a total of 26 years. His military training included 47 weeks of Thai language in 1962, which he used when serving as an adviser to Royal Thai military forces. He also studied Vietnamese for 47 weeks in 1969 and served two combat tours in Vietnam as an intelligence officer, receiving a battlefield commission there. While serving in the military, Pentony earned a bachelor’s degree from Chaminade University in Honolulu, and also completed coursework for a master’s degree there. 

In 1978, by then a major, Pentony returned to Korea and served four years with the UN Command Military Armistice Commission’s Tunnel Neutralization Team, detecting tunnels North Koreans were digging under the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea. In 1982, he retired from the Marine Corps as a major, but continued to live in Seoul as a businessman. 

During these years in Korea, Pentony joined the Seoul Hash House Harriers, which members describe as “a drinking club with a running problem.” At the weekly “Hash” gatherings, he quickly became known as “Kimchi Marine.” Acclaimed for his salty and razor-sharp humor, and his fondness for reciting ribald rhymes by Rudyard Kipling to the assembled, he was named Hash Grand Master in 1982-83. He later served for several years as an Emeritus Master, and each week’s event in Seoul still closes with a rousing and irreverent Marine anthem, which is Pentony’s legacy. Bonds of friendship formed in the Hash lasted for decades, and in Kimchi Marine’s last weeks well wishes flowed in from fellow Hashers all around the world. 

In 1993, Pentony and his wife, Eun-sook “Silver” Suh-Pentony, relocated from Seoul to Phuket, Thailand, where they lived for four years, managing a resort condo complex. Then, returning to the U.S., they lived briefly in Pennsylvania before settling in Phoenix for four years while Silver attended the Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management and worked with Calance Inc. 

In 2002, Pentony and Silver returned to Korea, living for nine years on Cheju Island, then five more years back in Seoul. In August 2017, they left Korea once more, moving to Levittown. 

On March 26, 1953, Pentony was with the 3/5th behind Vegas, when the Chinese overran the American ‘Combat Outposts,’ and the Marines went in to retake the position. Pentony watched, appalled, as the Americans fought their way up the hill under punishing Chinese fire: “I used to think officers were smart. Now I felt: ‘This is stupid. Do they have any plan?’” They just seemed to think: “The Marines will take that hill, frontal assault, that’s it.”  

On the afternoon of March 27, Pentony’s senior gunner officer, a major, was so appalled by the spectacle of infantry still struggling forward, having lost all their own officers, that he received special permission to go forward and lead them himself. His radio operator returned two days later with the dead major’s pistol and watch. 

The March battles for Carson, Reno and Vegas cost the Marine Corps 116 men killed out of a total of over a thousand casualties and inspired some of the most remarkable feats of American courage to come out of the Korean War. Pentony found that his own mood, his attitude to the war, vacillated greatly from day to day: “It was like indigestion: some days you felt very brave, nothing bothered you, sounds at night didn’t worry you. Then on other days, for no special reason you were scary, jumpy — the smallest thing bothered you.” 

The entire book is available free online, in a PDF, at this URL: https://epdf.pub/the-korean-war6e6e20a250f41455d3a60b333525cb8f87281.html. 

Pentony is survived by his wife, Silver, and a son Thomas Pentony of Levittown, Pennsylvania. He was predeceased by a daughter Deborah Madden and a son Mark. 

A Catholic Mass was celebrated Nov. 9 at St. John Vianney Church in Gladwyne, Pennsylvania. Interment followed at Arlington National Cemetery.

Mitchell I. Steinberg 

Mitchell I. Steinberg of East Northport, formerly of Hewlett, died Nov. 8 at 65 years of age. He was the beloved husband of Ellen; loving father of Michael and Trish; cherished son of the late Hyman and the late Ida; dear brother of Paula Anker and her late husband Jeffrey; fond son-in-law of Geraldine Nagle and the late Cornelius; fond brother-in-law of Michael and Susan Nagle, Mary and Robert Giacopino, Neal and Jynel Nagle and Peter and Janine Nagle. He was also loved by his many nieces and nephews. Steinberg worked for J.P. Morgan Chase for 35 years. Visitation was held Nov. 2 at Nolan Funeral Home in Northport. Funeral Mass was celebrated Nov. 3 at St. Philip Neri Church, Northport.

Brian John Olson 

Brian John Olson “Pops” of Northport passed peacefully Nov. 1 at age 74 with his family by his side. He was the beloved husband of Debbie; a loving father of Glenn Olson and Alexis Walsh, her husband (Chris) and cherished Pops to Camden; dear brother to Dana Olson, Linda Glynn and the late Ogden Olson and his wife Warreen; treasured brother-in-law of Jim and Debbie Hall and David and Julie Hall. Olson was the proprietor of Marrone’s Service Station in Huntington Station for over 30 years with longtime friend Rich Grudens. Memorial visitation was held Nov. 6 at Nolan Funeral Home in Northport with a special Air Force Honors tribute. In Pops’ memory, any donations to the Visiting Nurse Service & Hospice of Suffolk Inc at 505 Main St. Northport, NY 11768 are sincerely appreciated.

John C. Byers 

John C. Byers of Northport died suddenly on Oct. 31. He was the loving husband of Allison Strong Byers; beloved father of John C. Jr. and his wife Elizabeth, Jeffrey M., Jillian A. Matusz and her husband Phil, and the late James W. Byers; cherished grandfather of Bella A. Byers, dear brother of Bonnie and the late William Byers. Visitation was held Nov. 6 at Nolan Funeral Home in Northport. Funeral services were held Nov.7 at the funeral home with Rev. Bette Sohm presiding. Interment followed at Northport Rural Cemetery. In John’s memory donations to Harry Chapin Food Bank would be sincerely appreciated to: Long island Cares, the Harry Chapin Food Bank,10 Davids Drive (Harry Chapin Way), Hauppauge, NY 11788-2039 or visit www.Licares.org.

Robert DeMaria

Robert DeMaria, author, professor and longtime resident of Port Jefferson, died peacefully at his home Sept. 2, shortly before his 91st birthday. 

DeMaria earned his bachelor’s degree, master’s and doctorate at Columbia University. He first taught at the University of Oregon, then at Hofstra University and later at Dowling College until he retired. DeMaria was academic dean at The New School for Social Research in New York, and worked as an editor at MacMillan Publishers, but his first love was writing.

The bulk of his creative work consisted of 25 published novels, including his 1991 “The College Handbook of Creative Writing” which is on its fourth edition. DeMaria also wrote an opera libretto, an off-Broadway play, poetry and short fiction published in various magazines.

He lived on and off in the artist colony of Deia, Mallorca, for 50 years. He set up and directed an overseas program for American students and writers-in-residence at The Mediterranean Institute and, together with his wife Ellen Hope Meyer, published Mediterranean Review, a literary review of artists and writers. His wife died in 1999.

In 1991, DeMaria started his own digital publishing company, The Vineyard Press, which has published more than 60 books.

“DeBob,” an affectionate name created by his students, was an affable man with a sense of humor and a keen wit. Family said he loved his family, his dogs, boating, social life, good food and wine, and living in Port Jefferson and Deia. 

DeMaria is survived by three sons: Robert DeMaria Jr., Nikolas and Michael; one daughter, Amanda; four grandchildren, Alex, David, Tygre and Emma; and his longtime partner, Fran Zak.

Mary Alice Serdock

Mary Alice Serdock, of Stony Brook, died July 2. She was 86.

She was born Nov. 26, 1932, in Queens, and was the daughter of Marie and Charles Fox.

Serdock was a retired real estate broker and member and active participant of the Lending Aids Society, Theatre Three, Rosary Altar Society, Three Village Meals on Wheels and Three Village Historical Society. She also enjoyed traveling, reading, watching television and gardening.

Left to cherish her memory is her son, Arthur; daughters, Catherine, Ann, Margaret and Ellen; six grandchildren; sisters, Elizabeth and Jane; brother, Robert; along with many other family and friends.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Arthur, and brother, Barry.

Services were held at the St. James R.C. Church, July 6. Interment was at the St. James R.C. Churchyard Cemetery.

Arrangements were entrusted to the Bryant Funeral Home of Setauket. People can visit www.bryantfh.com to sign the online guest book.

Sherwood Emerson Lewis Sr.

Sherwood Emerson Lewis Sr, of Marion, Massachusetts, died peacefully in the presence of his family members Oct. 31 at Sippican nursing home in Marion.

He fell ill in 2010 with a progressive and debilitating illness. He was 77 years old.

Sherwood was born in Port Jefferson to loving parents, Howard Sr. and Ethel DuVal Lewis. While employed in the late 1970s at Long Island Lighting Company, Sherwood attained a class-A welder rating. He received a LILCO award for designing an exhaust ash bearing protector.

He leaves behind his brother Robert Lewis, a family historian in Setauket (and wife Barbara). Sherwood is predeceased by his parents, and siblings Pearl Lewis Hart, Ethel Barbara Lewis Lee, Hazel Lewis and Howard Lewis Jr.

Sherwood is survived by his loving wife, Bonnie June Davis Lewis of Dennis Port, Massachusetts; and their children, Rolinda A. Lewis, Gwen M. Haddad, Arliena P. Feldmar (Peter R.), Nicole R. Lewis, Kim M. Lewis and Sherwood E. Lewis Jr. He is the loving granddad of 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He is survived by many cousins, nieces and nephews.

Visitation was held Nov. 7 at Chapman, Cole & Gleason Funeral Home in Wareham, Massachusetts. Services were followed by a funeral procession to Centre Cemetery
in Wareham.

Sherwood’s most precious accomplishment was being a loving father. This warmhearted man of extraordinary talents will be greatly missed.

Bruce Hunt

Bruce Hunt, a retired Northport High School social teacher and department chair, passed away on Oct. 9 at the age of 86. Bruce is survived by his wife Marcia, his sons Christopher and Peter, daughter Eliza Furtado and seven grandchildren. He was predeceased by his daughter Sarah.

At Northport High School Bruce was an educational innovator, designing and implementing unique classes and promoting novel teaching methods. Classes Bruce helped create are still being taught at Northport High School today.

From the early 1960s Bruce was an active civil rights leader, serving as head of the Fair Housing Association of Huntington and chair of the Huntington Human Relations Committee. In 1965 Bruce was awarded a John Hay Fellowship at Northwestern University, which took him to Chicago for a year, during which time he traveled to Alabama to take part in the march from Selma to Montgomery with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1970 Bruce temporarily left Northport and moved his family to Greece, teaching at the American Community School for six years

After retiring from Northport High School in 1993, Bruce and Marcia took positions at the American Embassy School in Damascus, Syria, where they lived for the next five years. In 1998 they permanently retired, moving to Skiathos, a Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea. In 2014, Bruce and Marcia returned to the U.S. and settled in Brant Rock, Massachusetts, living in Grey Gull – a cottage on the water that has been in Bruce’s family for nearly a century.

Services for Bruce were private. Gifts in his memory may be made to the American Civil Liberties Union — by mail to ACLU Gift Processing Dept., 125 Broad St., 12th Floor, New York, NY 10004 or online at https://www.aclu.org/ — or to a charity of your choice.

Nicholas Economides 

Nicholas Economides of Centerport, formerly of Florida, died on Oct. 29 at 81 years of age. He was the beloved husband of Aspasia; loving father of Maria Markowski and her husband Christopher; beloved grandfather of Stephen, Aspasia and Nicholas; dear brother of Kalliope Papantoniou and her husband Antonios and the late Emanuel and his wife Julie. Nicholas was born in Nikeia, Nisyros, Greece. Visitation was held Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 at Nolan Funeral Home in Northport. Funeral was celebrated at St. Paraskevi Greek Orthodox Church in Greenlawn. Burial followed at Northport Rural Cemetery. In Nicholas’ memory donations to www.americanbrainfoundation.org/ would be appreciated. 

Raymond Christopher Ficken

Raymond Christopher Ficken of Northport died on Nov. 3 at 56 years of age. Loving son of Evelyn (Arthur) C. Garcia and Frederick William Fickern; beloved brother of William (Victoria) R. Ficken, Michael (Monica) G. Ficken and Marc C. Ficken; dear uncle of Marc, Alexis, Kyla, Aidan and  William. Visitation was held at Nolan Funeral Home in Northport on Nov. 8. Prayer service held during visitation. Private cremation followed.

Joseph V. Malfi

Joseph V. Malfi of Commack died on Nov. 2 at 89 years of age. He was the beloved husband of the late Frances; loving father of Louis Malfi, Christopher Malfi (Natalie) and Laura Colombo (Jeff Schneider); cherished grandfather of Samantha, Erin, Tony (Thomasina), Joe and Nick; fond brother of the late Nicholas Malfi. Visitation was held Nov. 4 at Nolan Funeral Home in Northport. Funeral Mass was celebrated Nov. 5 at Christ the King Church in Commack. Burial followed at Calverton National Cemetery with Navy Honors.