Shelter Island Reporter obituaries
Richard Douglas Carlson
Naval architect Richard Douglas Carlson died on November 24, 2014. He was 90.
As a 10-year-old boy, Dick designed and built his first boat, which he sailed around Shelter Island, often with the family dog at the bow. Though his design skills were mostly self-taught, Dick studied engineering in college and worked for yacht designers Philip L. Rhodes and M. Rosenblatt & Sons in New York, before opening a one-man design firm and moving it to Shelter Island in 1960. He loved beautiful racers of all kinds, especially horses and boats.
He was born in Montclair, New Jersey to Oscar Ludwig and Dicie Enita Carlson.
After summering on Shelter Island, the family eventually moved here permanently.
After completing his naval service in the Pacific during World War II, Dick embraced his longtime love of thoroughbred horses and ultimately became a trainer, winning his first race with a $117 mutual. After three years of training horses, he returned to designing boats.
His best-known and most controversial design was the Cutlass — a 23-foot, 7-inch masthead sloop with a unique reverse shear and transom that enabled him to guarantee his work, telling his clients that if they didn’t win at least half of their races, he would buy the boat back from them. There were no takers and many of his clients became lifelong friends.
All but three of his designs were for cruising sailboats under 45 feet, suitable for ocean racing. “Instead of finding clients, I would design a boat that I liked and the boat would find the client,” Dick said. “I discovered that Americans don’t really like true sailboats, so my market was in England, Australia, New Zealand and South America.”
For many years, he was the only practicing naval architect on Eastern Long Island. He also served as measurer for many yacht-racing organizations and surveyed hundreds of boats, which he would often deliver to their new owners. His yearly Christmas card drawings were highly prized by sailors and were frequently displayed year-round in marina offices.
He was a founder of the Midget Ocean Racing Club. An extremely successful racer, he sailed his boats without a motor until local racing rules demanded that he install one.
His first marriage to Mary Jane Zugelder ended in divorce. In 1971, he met Joan Tyor Martines of New York City at the Storm Trysail races on Block Island and they married and moved to Sag Harbor. He leaves a daughter, Dicie Tyor Carlson, of New York City. Stepdaughter Catherine Perry Martines predeceased him as did his brother, Robert Carlson, of Shelter Island.
There will be a memorial gathering of friends and relatives on Sunday, January 11, 2015 at 2 p.m. at the Carlson residence, 140 Division Street in Sag Harbor.
‘Bob’ Kenneth Frank
Captain “Bob” Kenneth Frank, 79, of Shelter Island died on August 2, 2014, at the Long Island Veterans Home at Stony Brook.
He was born on July 31, 1935, in Brooklyn, to the late Charles F. Frank and Anna H. (Batterman) Frank and was husband of the late Sandra P. (Case) Frank who died on June 1, 2013.
Bob graduated in 1953 from Sewanhaka High School in Floral Park, New York. After serving in the U.S. Naval Reserve Air Development Squadron from 1955 to 1957, he studied at Hofstra University and Farmingdale State College.
In 1962, Bob soloed at Zahn’s Airport in Amityville and then served as mechanic with Eastern Airlines. In 1964, he flew with Empire State Airlines and later as a corporate pilot with Mohawk Airlines. From 1965 until 1991, Bob flew with Pan American Airlines where he was promoted to Boeing 747 Captain. During his career, he was awarded the Civilian Desert Shield and Desert Storm Medal for outstanding achievement by the Air Force.
Bob married Sandy on Valentine’s Day, 1970. In 1978 they moved to Shelter Island to raise their children.
Bob enjoyed boating, building and flying model airplanes and working outdoors. He was a member of ALPA, the Pan Am Historical Foundation, the Long Island Early Fliers Club, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Academy of Model Aeronautics.
He is survived by his children, Jennifer, Stephanie, Laura and Charlie; his grandchildren Tyler, Caitlynn, Colin, Lauren, Johnny and Kenny; his brother, Charles E. Frank, his niece and nephew Barbara and Robby, as well as several friends and neighbors.
A Funeral Mass for Bob was held on August 8, 2014 at Our Lady of the Isle Roman Catholic Church. Interment followed at Our Lady of the Isle Cemetery.
The family requests memorial donations be made to the Pan Am Historical Foundation, 1275 Fairfax Avenue, Suite 747, San Francisco, California 94124-1759 or to Our Lady of the Isle, P.O. Box 3027, Shelter Island Heights, NY 11965.
Regina A. Romanchuk
Regina A. Romanchuk of Shelter Island passed away on December 3, 2014. A mass will be held Saturday, December 13 at Our Lady of the Isle Church at 10:30 a.m., followed by interment of ashes. Friends and family are welcome to gather at her home after the cemetery service at 19 Petticoat Lane. A complete obituary will appear in a future issue of the Reporter.
