Jerome Peter Fleming Formerly Of Southampton Dies February 9

Jerome Peter “Jerry” Fleming, forerly of Southampton, died in New Bern, North Carolina on February 9. He was 75.

Mr. Fleming was born in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, a residential neighborhood that overlooks the New York Harbor and Verrazano Bridge, which was built in his early years and opened in 1964.

He was the son of a loving, elegant mother Hannah Kelly Fleming, his family said, and successful textile salesman David Joseph Fleming, who spent his career as a vice president with Cone Mills Corporation based in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Mr. Fleming was the youngest child of three brothers and grew up with a group of neighborhood friends with whom he developed deep, lifelong connections.

His family described him as a very hard-working and well-respected restaurateur, having been part-owner and GM of Bananafish Park in Bay Ridge, Downhill Racer Ski Lodge on Hunter Mountain and the renowned Mimosa Beach Club in the Hamptons in the mid-1970s and early 1980s. Later, he managed popular Hamptons establishments including the Chart Inn, The Driver’s Seat, Baron’s Cove and Bowden Square.

Mr. Fleming and his wife Kathleen were married on September 28, 1974 at Sacred Hearts Catholic Church in Southampton and continued their loving relationship for the next 45 years, family said.

The couple moved their family down south to New Bern, North Carolina, from Laurel, New York, a hamlet on the North Fork of Long Island, in 1989.

Mr. Fleming was a Vietnam U.S. Army veteran, an experience he rarely spoke about during his life but which his family said had a profound impact on him. He was proud to serve his country, but despised war, nonetheless.

Mr. Fleming was a lover of nature and was forever grateful to spend his later years alongside the waters of the Trent River surrounded by beautiful sunsets and wildlife that thrilled him daily, according to his family.

His family will forever remember his zest for life before he had health problems and his unconditional love that never wavered, they said.

He is survived by his wife Kathleen; his sons Jerry and David; his daughter-in-law Courtney; and three grandchildren, Cormac, Lillian and Gus.

The family will honor his life through two private ceremonies in New Bern and Southampton. In lieu of flowers, donations in Jerry’s honor may be made to the Wounded Warrior Project (because he was one) at www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ or Operation Underground Railroad at ourrescue.org.