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Edward P. Sharretts Jr.
Judge Edward P. Sharretts Jr., a longtime resident of Southampton and Bridgehampton, died at Southampton Hospital on Tuesday, October 25, after a short illness. He was 94 and was predeceased by his wife of more than 50 years in 2007, the former Anne Gay whose family first came to Southampton as summer residents in the early 1900s.
Judge Sharretts, who was known as Ted, practiced law in New York City for many years before becoming an assistant town attorney and then town attorney of Southampton. In that role he became recognized as one of the leading experts on the Dongan Patent, the 1686 grant by the Governor of the Province of New York that is the source of today’s regulation of Southampton’s bays and waters. After serving as town attorney, he served as a justice of the Southampton Town Court where his common sense, good humor and compassion made him many friends among both the prosecutors and defendants who appeared before him.
Mr. Sharretts attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and the University of Virginia where he played on the varsity football team, the renown Cavaliers. During World War II, he served as a major in the U.S. Army and did a tour of duty in Europe. He also served many local organizations including as a Trustee of the Peconic Land Trust, a governor of the Southampton Club and as a director of the Southampton Bathing Corporation.
Mr. Sharretts had a great love of duck hunting and fishing, and he spent many hours in Peconic duck blinds and even more hours out on the ocean on his boat, the Sazerac. His skill at games and sports stayed with him for practically all of his life, and in his late eighties his prowess at bottle pool, a form of billiards, was extolled in an article in the New York Times.
He is survived by his sister-in-law, Louise H. Sharretts, and by numerous nephews and nieces, many of whom live in the Southampton area.
Private funeral arrangements were under the direction of the Brockett Funeral Home in Southampton.
Memorial donations to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978, would be appreciated by the family.
on Oct 31, 2011