Richard Sommerville
Richard Alexander Sommerville of Bean Station, Tennessee, formerly of East Quogue, was shot and killed on Thursday, May 23, in a pharmacy in Bean Station. He was 71.
Mr. Sommerville was born in Brooklyn on July 9, 1941. He graduated from Franklin K. Lane High School and went straight into the Air Force in 1958.
Mr. Sommerville married Kathleen (Stewart) Sommerville on June 26, 1965, and they lived in East Quogue before moving to Bean Station when he retired in December 1999, after 36 years, from his job as a lineman and substation maintenance supervisor for the Long Island Lighting Company.
He enjoyed watching Gene Autry westerns, running his Lionel trains, beating his opponent in a game of chess, riding his lawn mower to the lake for a swim, spending time with his grandchildren in the hot tub, making apple butter with his church family and listening to bluegrass country music. Survivors said you would never have known he was from New York City unless he spoke, and that he was a country boy at heart.
Mr. Sommerville is survived by his wife, Kathleen; four children, Lorrie Sommerville of Tennessee, Kelly Sommerville-Frick and husband Bob of Tennessee, Ryan Sommerville of East Quogue, and Sally Sommerville of Tennessee; two grandchildren, Samantha and Joey Frick; a brother, Robert Sommerville and wife LaDonna of South Dakota; and many nieces and nephews, as well as other family and friends. He was predeceased by his parents, Alexander and Gladys Sommerville; and a son, Richard Alexander Sommerville Jr.
Visitation was held at Central United Methodist Church in Bean Station on Monday, May 27, with a service following. A memorial service will be held at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Westhampton Beach on Thursday, May 30. Funeral arrangements were handled by Mayes Family Services in Morristown, Tennessee, and Follett and Werner Funeral Home in Westhampton Beach.
Memorial donations may be made to the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital, 2018 Clinch Avenue, Knoxville, TN 37916.
on May 29, 2013