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Shelter Island Reporter obituary: Thomas Henry Hagoort

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Thomas Henry Hagoort, of Hilton Head, South Carolina, and East Quogue died on October 18, 2017. A long-time resident of Ram Island, he was 85.

Tom was born in Paterson, New Jersey on May 30, 1932 to Nicholas Hugh and Rae (née Sytsma) Hagoort.

He grew up in Belleville, New Jersey and started dating his future wife, Lois Bennett, in his senior year at Belleville High School. They married in September 1954 a few months after Tom graduated from Harvard, where he was captain of the freshman crew and active in the Crimson Key Society, and a few days before he started law school at Harvard.

Tom was a member of the Law Review and was elected Note Editor. He had a long legal career, first as a corporate partner at Cleary, Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in New York, and then as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at Albany International Corp.

The Hagoorts lived in Montclair, New Jersey for 36 years until they retired to Hilton Head in 1996.

Tom and Lois bought their home on Ram Island in 1975 after renting on Shelter Island for two summers. They spent every summer in the house and on their boat until they moved to East Quogue in 2015 to be near their daughters.

Tom was an avid sailor and he and Lois lived for their weeks-long summer cruises from Coecles Harbor to some of their favorite spots to anchor. They were members of the Shelter Island Yacht Club and spent many summers cruising with other members. Every sailboat he owned was christened Peripatetic and he was up to Peripatetic IV when he passed away.

In addition to his beloved wife of 63 years, Tom is survived by their daughters Susan (John) Bick of Quogue and New Canaan, Connecticut, and Nancy (Robert) Treuhold of Quogue and Manhattan; his granddaughters Jessica (Michael) Law, Anna (Brinkley) Rowe and Christine Treuhold; and his brother, Nicholas Hugh Hagoort Jr.

A private celebration of his life will be held at Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the spring.