Robert G. Lamparter Of Montauk Dies January 10

Robert G. Lamparter

Robert G. Lamparter of Montauk died of cancer at Southampton Hospital on January 10, his 77th birthday. Mr. Lamparter, who had built a summer home in Montauk in 1973, resided there year-round since retiring in 1996 as an art and photography teacher at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington.

He loved Montauk dearly and worked passionately to give back to the community. “He left Montauk a better place than he found it,” said John Keeshan of Montauk.

He was born in Brooklyn in 1936, to William C. Lamparter and the former Nadine Lesch, and grew up in Malverne, graduating from Malverne High School in 1953. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in art education from Buffalo State Teachers College in 1957, where he was an active member of the Delta Kappa fraternity, and his Master of Arts in education from Adelphi University in 1967.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1958 to 1960, and was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in Texas. He was active in the Boy Scouts of America throughout his life, serving as a leader at the Wauwepex Scout Training Camp in Wading River in the 1950s, as the director of the Ten Mile River Trading Post in Narrowsburg during the 1960s and early 1970s, and, most recently, as an assistant Scoutmaster for the Montauk Boy Scout Troop. He worked as a lifeguard on Long Island during his 20s, and in the early 1970s at the Montauk Golf and Racquet Club (now Montauk Downs State Park), and was an avid Montauk surfcaster.

Mr. Lamparter was the longtime president of the Montauk Beach Property Owners Association and most recently served as its vice president. He was instrumental in creating the Montauk Memorial Day Parade with Ken Walles in 2011. He served as a trustee on Montauk’s Fort Hill Cemetery board, and was a dedicated Meals-On-Wheels volunteer. Along with retired East Hampton Town Justice Jim Ketcham, he spearheaded the campaign to successfully stop the proposed incorporation of Montauk village.

East Hampton Town Supervisor Bill Wilkinson said, “Bob Lamparter was the quintessential Montauk volunteer and community leader. He spearheaded the Montauk Beach Property Owners Association; mentored dozens of Scouts in the Montauk Scout Troop; and focused efforts on veterans issues and their positive portrayal in the East Hampton community. He was persistent, passionate and plain speaking at the CAC and board levels. He was truly a friend of Montauk and I will miss him.”

His daughter Keri Lamparter of Montauk said, “My father was passionate about Montauk and its preservation. He achieved great satisfaction through his civic involvement and touched so many lives in our community. My father was my closest friend, greatest ally, lifelong teacher and mentor, and the source of my artistic education and inspiration. He had only begun to experience any symptoms very recently. He lived life very fully, right to the end and passed away peacefully. My sister Lynn and I are profoundly grateful for the outstanding medical care he received from Dr. Tony Knott in Montauk and everyone at Southampton Hospital, as well as the wonderful support from my father’s friends and the community as a whole.”

His wife, Ann, predeceased him in 2007. He is survived by his two daughters Keri Lamparter of Montauk, and Lynn Tighe of North Carolina; a granddaughter, Erin, of North Carolina; and a brother, William Lamparter of North Carolina.

Memorial donations to the Montauk Medical Center, 699 Main Street, Montauk, NY 11954 or the Montauk Memorial Day Parade Committee, c/o Ken Walles, P.O. Box 668, Montauk, NY 11954 would be appreciated by the family.

A memorial service will be held in April.