Bill Tully
Bill Tully died at his home in Hampton Bays on Christmas Day with his loved ones nearby. He was 83.
He was a commercial fisherman for more than 70 years, beginning off the Coney Island pier at age 12. He moved to Hampton Bays in 1959 and worked the draggers Condor and the Gull before returning to trap lobsters. He fished inshore and also in the Hudson Canyon for years, running the Billy Boy.
He was married for 42 years to his wife Irene, who survives him. His son, Will, was here from California to care for his father in his final days with hospice support and the help of close friends.
In addition to his wife and son, he is survived by two brothers, John of Florida and Neil of Riverhead; two sisters, Loretta Costa of Connecticut and Marian Greve of Southampton; and a daughter, Susan Arnold of New Jersey. He is also survived by three granddaughters, Kyler Bliss Tully, Jodie and Kristen Arnold; and many nephews and nieces, whom he taught to catch fish from his Swampscott dory in the bay.
Mr. Tully was cremated and the family and former crew members will scatter his ashes over the Shinnecock Inlet in late spring.
Memorial donations may be made to the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center, www.whbpac.org, where he spent many happy evenings of his life, or to East End Hospice, which cared for him and kept him comfortable, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978.
on Jan 7, 2013