Shelter Island Reporter obituaries: Katz, Schmitt
Donald B. Katz
Donald B. Katz, 85, passed away March 15, 2015, at his Sag Harbor home.
He was the beloved husband of Gertrude and loving father of Phyllis Katz, Susan (Alan) Leavitt, Hank (Jayne) Katz and Jane (Alan) Levy and the adoring “Poppy” of nine grandchildren. He is also survived by a sister, Arlene.
A graduate of the New York University School of Commerce, Don had lived in Greenport before moving to Sag Harbor. He began his accounting practice on a card table in his mother-in-law’s store, the Fil-Net Shoppe, in Sag Harbor.
Don later established the Donald B. Katz accounting firm in his building on Sag Harbor’s Main Street. His firm represented many North Fork businesses, including Times/Review Media Group and Mullen Motors.
His love of tennis motivated him to become a founding partner of the Bridgehampton Tennis and Surf Club. In recent years, he was also an avid contract bridge player.
For 25 years, he was president of Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor, where he relished his role as the shofar blower on the high holidays.
Until his recent illness, he and his wife maintained a second home in Boca Raton, Florida.
Don truly loved his family and his life in Sag Harbor. Family and friends said they will miss him every day.
Services were held March 17 at Temple Adas Israel in Sag Harbor.
Donations in memory of Donald B. Katz may be made to East End Hospice, the Sag Harbor Community Food Pantry or Temple Adas Israel.
Janice Mallin Schmitt
Janice Schmitt passed away at San Simeon by the Sound in Greenport on March 10, 2015. She was 79. She was afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease during her last years, cared for at home with the help of Ruth Greene, her husband Lou Schmitt said, before leaving for the excellent care at San Simeon.
Janice was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania on August 15, 1935. She grew up in New York City, and after attending Hunter High School, studied at Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating with a B.A. in art history. Later she did graduate work at the Fontainebleau School in Paris.
After school she worked, primarily as a writer, at Vogue and Newsweek before marrying and raising a family in Chappaqua, New York.
She leaves behind a son, Dr. William Mallin of Rochester, Michigan, and a daughter, Letitia Accarrino of Naples, Florida, as well as her beloved grandchild, Charlotte Accarrino, also of Naples. Her first husband, Joel M. Mallin, died some years ago.
Janice and Lou Schmitt met in 1986 and were married in 1996. After living briefly in New York, they moved to their home in Silver Beach full-time in 2001, where Janice was a member of the Garden Club of Shelter Island.
In retirement Janice returned to her first love of painting, studying at the Art Students League in New York and eventually showing her work in several shows and galleries in New York. Her work was also shown locally at the Shelter Island Library and in Town Hall.
Following a private funeral, she now rests in Our Lady of the Isle Cemetery. A memorial is planned for late spring. Donations in her memory may be made to San Simeon, 61700 Route 48, Greenport, NY 11944 or the Alzheimer’s Association, Long Island Chapter, P.O. Box 96011, Washington D.C. 20090-6011.
