James ‘Seamus’ Andrew Naughton of Westhampton Beach Dies November 14

James “Seamus” Andrew Naughton of Westhampton Beach, the longtime sound designer for the Hampton Theatre Company who brought his trademark Irish bonhomie to whatever task he turned his hand to, died on November 14, after a long, never-complaining, and valiant fight against cancer. He was 56.

Born January 14, 1967, in County Mayo, he grew up in Foxford, Ireland, the fourth of six children of Patrick and Mary Naughton, who predeceased him. According to his family, in his youth he loved to be outdoors, “tramping on the mountain” at every opportunity. A runner in secondary school, his event was the 1500-meter.

Seamus moved to the United States in 1997, his family said, to join some of his siblings who were already here. He worked for a landscaping company before going into business with Tim Hurley, eventually going on to buy the business and renaming it Fox’s Ford Property Management.

It was while working backstage and building sets at the Hampton Theatre Company in Quogue that he met his future wife, Jessica Howard. He would go on to become the sound designer and sound engineer for all HTC productions, while continuing to help with set construction and striking sets, pitching in wherever he was needed.

He loved to travel with Jessica: to Umbria, Iceland, Ireland, and frequent trips to his wife’s family cabin in northern New Hampshire, where they were married in 2003. In New Hampshire, they enjoyed hiking, camping and canoeing, with Seamus taking photographs. A skilled amateur photographer, he focused mainly on landscapes and the natural world. Many of his friends and family members have his framed prints hanging in their homes.

He loved good cheese, wine, and whiskey, and grew some of his own vegetables (particularly potatoes) and herbs in the backyard of the couple’s home in Westhampton Beach. Seamus also loved animals: he and Jessica owned a progression of cats over their 24-year partnership, and he was surrogate uncle to many dogs

Passionate about books (particularly the works of J.R.R. Tolkein and the sci-fi genre), he was also an ardent fan of vinyl records and had a large collection of albums and turntables that he refurbished himself. He took pride in a whimsical collection of T-shirts from which, his family said, astute observers could, over time, glean the story of his life.

Seamus had a large and loyal group of friends, his family said, who knew that his sometimes curmudgeonly exterior masked what was a core of good humor, love and kindness. He was deeply loved by all who knew him.

In addition to his wife Jessica, Seamus is survived by his siblings: Robert and Trisha of Foxford, Ireland; Julie of Salisbury, CT; Kenneth of Santa Clara, CA; and Louise of San Francisco. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews: Laura, Conor, Luke, Dara, and Ruaíri (and great-nephew Oliver), and Jessica’s niece and nephew, Jack and Sofie.

At a celebration of Seamus’s life on November 18 at the Westhampton Presbyterian Church, the Reverend John Kloepfer recalled how beloved Seamus was by animals and little children. This prompted a recollection by the Reverend Vanessa Winters of how her own young child had been following Seamus around while he set up sound equipment for outdoor services at the church during COVID. Her child came to her afterwards, Winters recalled, and whispered, “Mommy, I know what Santa does during the summer.”

Amid the laughter sparked by this insight, one thing was clear: Knowing Seamus as they did, for just one moment all the people gathered in the church that day believed with all their hearts in Santa Claus.