Obituary: James R. Stark, Former Town of Riverhead Supervisor, Dies at 78

Info via Town of Riverhead Supervisor

James R. Stark, who was the 57th Supervisor of the Town of Riverhead, died on Wednesday morning at Peconic Bay Medical Center with his family by his side after a battle with lung cancer. He was 78 years old.

Stark was born in Greenport, to William C. and Mary (Legere) Stark on May 29, 1936.

He attended Riverhead schools before graduating high school from La Salle Military Academ and received a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Villanova University.

He then served his country in the U.S. Army before being honorably discharged in 1960.

Between 1970 and 1998, Stark was the owner of Storage Town East, Inc. and was the president of Farmers Exchange Co., Inc., a wholesale produce company.

In 1990, he was elected to the Riverhead Town Board and remained in his position until he became Deputy Town Supervisor under Joseph Janoski in 1994.

He then became Acting Supervisor in 1995 and was elected as Riverhead Town Supervisor from 1996 to 1997.

Stark then went on to work as an Assistant to the Suffolk County Economic Development Commissioner from July 1998 until February 1999.

According to a press release from the office of currently Riverhead Town Supervisor Sean Walter, Stark is remembered as a firm, yet fair government leader during his service at Riverhead Town Hall,

During his tenure on the town board, the town adopted special zoning that allowed for the development of the Tanger Outlet, which today draws over 12 million people annually.

During his time as supervisor, he played key roles that ultimately led to the development of The Long Island Aquarium and the revitalization of the Suffolk Theater.

Also, as supervisor and Chairman of the Riverhead Community Development Agency, he led the initial efforts to market the former Grumman property as the Calverton Enterprise Park (EPCAL) in 1996 prior to Riverhead taking formal ownership in 1998.

Supervisor Walter, has directed flags on town government buildings lowered to half-staff in honor of the former Supervisor.

He remembered Stark as charting the course for EPCAL on behalf of all Riverhead residents and as a staunch fiscal conservative who was a careful steward of town finances.

“Riverhead will be forever grateful for Jim Stark’s service and leadership. His love and dedication to this town will live on, but today we mourn the loss of a true public servant,” Walter said. “My thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Pat, his children and family, and the people of this great town.”

Former Supervisor and current Town Attorney, Robert F. Kozakiewicz, served as town attorney during the four years that Stark served in the Supervisor’s office.

He recalls those years as, “probably the fondest of my legal career. My time as town attorney under Supervisor Stark was truly rewarding and productive. He ran the town like a business and we owe him a great deal of gratitude for his leadership.”

Councilwoman Jodi Giglio credited Stark for pushing her into the political arena. “I was fortunate that he invested so much of his time in consulting with me on how to be a better Councilperson. He shared his experiences with me and gave me advice on how to deal with every situation that I questioned him about.” She added that she “will miss the sometimes hours of phone conversations we shared. I know he loved this town and the residents. Jim was a friend, a leader, a mentor and someone I truly respected.”

As past president of the Riverhead Kiwanis, a member of the Elks Lodge 2044, a former member of the Central Suffolk Hospital (now Peconic Bay Medical Center) Board of Directors and a former member of the Riverhead Central School District Board of Education, Stark was very involved in the local community.

In his spare time, he was a longtime member of St. John the Evangelist R.C. Church, an avid golfer, a longtime member of the Southampton Golf Club and a high school basketball referee for many years.

Over the past few years, Stark was passionate about and vital to the establishment of Heidi’s Helping Angels, Inc., which awards an annual scholarship named in the memory of Heidi Behr, a Riverhead ambulance volunteer who died at the age of 23 in a tragic ambulance crash in May 2005.

He served as the not-for-profit organization’s president for several years.

Stark is predeceased by his parents and brothers, William Bruce Stark and John Douglas Stark Sr., and is survived by his wife of 50 years Patricia, and his four children: Catherine L. Stark of Riverhead, Mark Stark of Riverhead, James Stark and his wife Patricia of Dix Hills, and Joanna Beall and her husband Corey of Honolulu, Hawaii.

He is also survived by seven grandchildren Caelyn Stark, Kelsey Stark, Keaghon Stark, Amanda Stark, Paige Stark, Rebecca Beall and Cooper Beall and one great grandson, Keaghon Stark Jr.

The family will receive visitors at the McLaughlin-Heppner Funeral Home located at 336 Marcy Avenue in Riverhead on Thursday, March 19 and Friday, March 20 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and in the evening from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.

A mass of Christian burial will be held on Saturday, March 21 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Isidore’s Church located at 622 Pulaski Street in Riverhead. Interment will follow at St. John’s Cemetery.