Former Riverhead town supervisor James R. Stark died yesterday at Peconic Bay Medical Center, after a courageous battle with lung cancer. The lifelong Riverhead resident was 78 years old.
Born in Greenport on May 29, 1936, he was the son of William C. and Mary Stark. He attended Riverhead schools and then LaSalle Military Academy. He earned a bachelor of science degree in economics from Villanova University and then served in the U.S. Army, from which he was honorably discharged in 1960.
Stark was the owner of Storage Town East Inc. and was the president of Farmers Exchange Co. Inc., a wholesale produce company, from 1970 to 1998.
Stark was elected town councilman in 1989 and served in that capacity from 1990 to 1995. He was named deputy supervisor in 1995 and served as acting supervisor when then-supervisor Joseph Janoski fell ill. He was elected as the 57th supervisor of the Town of Riverhead in 1995 and served one term, 1996-1997.
During his tenure on the town board, the town adopted special zoning that allowed for the development of Tanger Outlets, an attraction that now draws in excess of 12 million people to Riverhead annually. While supervisor he played key roles that ultimately led to the development of the Long Island Aquarium and the revitalization of the Suffolk Theater. 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 in 1996 prior to Riverhead taking formal ownership in 1998.
A native son, Stark was dedicated to his community and an active volunteer for many local organizations. He was past president of the Riverhead Kiwanis, a member of the Elks Lodge 2044, a former member of the board of directors of Central Suffolk Hospital (now Peconic Bay Medical Center) and a former trustee of the Riverhead Central School District.
In recent years, he was instrumental in the establishment of the nonprofit Heidi’s Helping Angels, named for Heidi Behr, a Riverhead ambulance volunteer who died at the age of 23 in a tragic ambulance crash in May 2005. Among other things, the group awards annual scholarships in Behr’s memory to graduating high school seniors who have demonstrated a dedication to community service.
“He was an amazing father, extraordinary,” his daughter Catherine said. “He was a pillar of strength for so many. The gift he gave us all was his unwavering devotion to family and friends.”
In addition to his wife of 50 years, Stark is survived by his sons Mark of Riverhead, and James and his wife Patricia, of Dix Hills, his daughters Catherine, of Riverhead, and Joanna Beall and her husband Corey of Honalulu, Hawaii. He is also survived by seven grandchildren: Caelyn, Kelsey, Keaghon, Amanda and Paige Stark and Rebecca and Cooper Beall; and by one great-grandson, Keaghon James Stark.
He was predeceased by his parents and his brothers, William Bruce Stark and John Douglas Stark Sr.
The family will receive visitors on Thursday, March 19 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m., as well as on Friday, March 20 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at McLaughlin Heppner Funeral Home, 336 Marcy Avenue, Riverhead.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered on Saturday, March 21 at 10:30 a.m. at St. Isidore’s Church. Interment will follow at St. John’s Cemetery.
