Longtime East Quogue Firefighter Frank T. 'Buddy' Lutz Dead At 91

Frank T. “Buddy” Lutz, an active member of the East Quogue Fire Department for 65 years and a World War II veteran, died at his home on Friday, July 13. He was 91.

Born on June 30, 1921, Mr. Lutz, better known as “Buddy,” moved to East Quogue with his wife, Shirley, in the 1940s after serving as a hard hat diver in the U.S. Navy during World War II. While stationed in New London, Connecticut, his job was to repair ships, salvage lost equipment and carry out other missions during the war. He and his wife would have been married 70 years this August.

Friends and family described Mr. Lutz as an insightful man who spent his life serving others.

“He was a great family man and friend to all who knew him, who served his community with total dedication his whole life,” wrote Tom Mendenhall, a friend of Mr. Lutz’s for more than 50 years, in an email.

Mr. Lutz’s daughters, Carla Lutz Carolan of East Quogue and Jacqueline Lutz Aldrich of Warner Robins, Georgia, said their favorite memory of their father was spending every Sunday at the beach with him and other families from the fire department, and always stopping for ice cream at Carvel on the way home. He was a great swimmer, they said, and a wonderful father.

“He had a very good sense of humor, right up until the end,” Ms. Carolan said. “He was telling the caregivers jokes.”

Mr. Lutz worked as a butcher at the Bohack supermarket on Main Street in Westhampton Beach for 35 years, in the building that now houses Rite Aid, and got to know most of his customers well, Ms. Carolan said. His favorite hobby took over part of the basement of their home,

she said, where he collected model trains that lit up and ran across an extensive display of railroad tracks.

When he wasn’t working on his model trains or spending time with his family, Mr. Lutz was at the Main Street firehouse, Ms. Carolan said. He established the East Quogue Fire Department’s emergency medical services some years ago and not only became an EMT, but taught the first EMT classes for fire department members.

“To the fire department, he was a brother, a father, a mentor,” said Greg Celi, the chief of the East Quogue Fire Department. “As a sum total, he was 
the East Quogue Fire Department.”

Mr. Lutz moved up the fire department ranks, holding nearly every position possible over the years, including lieutenant, captain, 2nd and 1st assistant chief and, finally, chief, from 1953 to 1956. He also served as commissioner and president of the fire district and represented the department in the Southampton Town Fire Chiefs’ Council and the Southampton Town Fire District Officers’ Association.

Mr. Celi said Mr. Lutz remained active as long as he possibly could—Mr. Lutz, at age 74, was the oldest firefighter who helped battle the Sunrise Wildfires in 1995, according to Mr. Celi—and even after his health kept him from responding to alarms, he spent a good deal of time at the firehouse. Mr. Celi recalled the way that Mr. Lutz, who was known as “Smokey” to his fellow firefighters, would call, “Hey, young fella!” across the building to him when he entered, always ready to offer some words of advice on fighting fires and being a leader.

“He was an amazing individual,” Mr. Celi said. “I always looked forward to seeing him.”

In 1979, Mr. Lutz was awarded Fireman of the Year in Suffolk County, besting a pool that included 150 nominees, according to Mr. Celi. Mr. Lutz earned the award again in 1999.

Ms. Carolan said she and the rest of her family were very thankful for the tremendous help the members of the fire department provided them during Mr. Lutz’s final years and for the support they provided after he died.

East Quogue Fire Commissioner Allyn Jackson said Mr. Lutz taught him first aid as a Boy Scout.

“He was just a level-headed man,” Mr. Jackson said. “If he had something to say, we would listen because it was usually pretty spot on. He was just a very nice man and we are all going to miss him because he was a vital part, one of the old-timers of our organization, and we don’t have too many of them left anymore.”

In addition to his wife and two daughters, Mr. Lutz is survived by a brother, John Rymer of North Carolina, and three grandchildren, Timothy Carolan and his wife, Melissa, of New Hampshire, Kelly Aldrich Lutes and her husband, Matt, of Washington State, and Adam Aldrich, of Georgia. He also leaves behind four great-grandchildren: Ella Rose Carolan, 3, Cody Michael Carolan, 1, Noah Michael Lutes, 6, and Grayson Collin Lutes, 7 months.

Visiting hours were held at the J. Ronald Scott Funeral Home in Hampton Bays on Sunday afternoon and evening, with a full firematic service at 7:30 p.m. At 10 a.m. Monday, Mr. Lutz’s casket was carried on an antique fire truck to the East Quogue United Methodist Church for a funeral service. He was interred at Oakwood Cemetery in East Quogue.

In lieu of flowers, his family asks that donations be made to the East Quogue Fire Department emergency medical services at 465 Montauk Highway, East Quogue, NY, 11942.