John Anthony Malafronte Of East Hampton Dies February 25

John Anthony Malafronte of East Hampton died at Southampton Hospital on February 25. He was 87.

His wife of 52 years, Sheilah, and sons Peter and Michael were able to be with him at the end. He died after an extremely short battle with cancer.

Mr. Malafronte was a first generation American. He was born on July 9, 1933 in Providence, Rhode Island to Elvira (Cappelletti) and Aniello Malafronte. He had two older brothers — Frank and Gene — who predeceased him.

Mr. Malafronte played drums from a young age and played in big bands throughout high school and into early adulthood. He earned an associate’s degree from Roger Williams College, served in the Merchant Marines working on ferry boats between Block Island and the mainland. He served in the United States Army from 1953-1955 and was stationed in Verdun, France.

He began his career working on inertial guidance systems for Northrop Grumman in Massachusetts before moving to New York City to begin a career in fixed income sales and trading, which he did at various firms until his retirement in 1999.

He and his wife bought property in Settlers Landing in 1966 in lieu of an engagement ring. They were married on September 20, 1969. Their marriage and the land were winning investments. The couple, and their sons, were fall, winter and spring residents until Mr. and Ms. Malafronte moved to East Hampton on a full-time basis upon his retirement in 1999. They were year-round residents of Larchmont, New York from 1972 to 1994, when they moved to Manhattan for a few years.

Upon his retirement — like so many new retirees — he found himself wanting to keep going. The East Hampton community provided him innumerable opportunities to put his talents to work, according to his family. He rekindled a love of electronics, they said, while volunteering at LTV; volunteering at the Ladies Village Improvement Society sorting donated clothes; and delivering food for Meals on Wheels.

It was a chance encounter that led to his passion on Long Lane for the past 15 years: East End Cooperative Organic Farm and Share the Harvest Farm (Food Pantry Farm). With fellow evangelists Peter Garnham, Ira Bezoza, Jane Berringer, Bruce Warr, Patty Gentry, and Dick Lynn, they started in 2008 with a single acre, the farm has grown to 6 acres supporting numerous local food pantries, women’s shelters and low income housing developments in East Hampton, Sag Harbor, Bridgehampton and Montauk.

Mr. Malafronte befriended the underdog, his family said, and was a friend to almost everyone. According to his family, he loved watching/shouting at the television while the Knicks or Mets played; laughing and spending time with family and friends; hustling extra produce off of neighboring farmers to round out their donations; looking for deals on farm equipment; passing the hat and touting the mission of the farm and raising awareness of hungry neighbors on the East End; driving to the North Fork with farm interns to pick up items from Briermere Farm to sell at the farm stand; singing the praises of his children, nieces and nephews, and especially his grandchildren, who — despite being elementary-school aged — would surely ascend to the highest offices in the federal government.

He loved his community, his family noted, and was struck early in his time on the South Fork of the contradictions: the enormous wealth and the poverty and hunger all in the same place. It fueled his volunteer work over the past 20 years. At the end of the day, he loved and believed in the power and goodness of people, his family said, noting that Mr. Malafronte would say, “Keep going, keep moving forward, don’t stop!”

He is survived by his wife Sheilah of East Hampton; sons Peter and Michael; daughters-in-law Christi and Julia; nephews Mike and Tom Malafronte; grandniece Maria Malafronte; many nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews on his wife’s side of the family; and grandchildren Guthrie, Eleanor and Reid Malafronte.

A party to celebrate his life will occur as soon as it’s safe to gather. In lieu of flowers, donations to Share The Harvest Farm, P.O. Box 181, East Hampton, NY 11937 or www.sharetheharvestfarm.org, would be appreciated by the family.