Shelter Island Reporter obituaries: Hodgkinson, Volinski
Kathryn Hodgkinson
Kathryn Jean Kloepfer Hodgkinson of Yorktown Heights, N.Y. passed away peacefully on July 4, 2026.
Kathy was known for her quiet strength, gentleness, and unwavering kindness. She was a loyal friend to many and the loving foundation of her family.
She was born in Mineola, N.Y. on April 29, 1959, and grew up in nearby Old Bethpage. It was a neighborhood filled with kids, where there was always someone to call on to come out and play. It was there that Kathy formed some of her earliest and most enduring friendships.
She attended Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., graduating in 1981 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history. There, as throughout her life, Kathy built lasting friendships that she treasured. She later earned a paralegal certificate from Adelphi University and worked as a paralegal in law firms in New York City and Westchester County.
Kathy was the granddaughter of Elbert and Adelaide Mandeville of Shelter Island. She enjoyed many summers on the Island and worked during college at restaurants including the Catchall and for several seasons at the Gardiner’s Bay Country Club dining room.
On May 27, 1984, she married the love of her life, Frank. She dedicated herself to her family as a homemaker, finding her greatest joy in raising their three children. Through every stage of their lives, she was their constant anchor.
A devoted member of The First Presbyterian Church of Yorktown for more than 30 years, Kathy served her church community with the same quiet generosity that defined every part of her life. She enjoyed life’s simple pleasures like getting lost in a good book, walking her beloved dogs, Kerry and Finn, and singing along to the radio. She would even find a way to add her dogs’ names into a verse or two. Above all, she loved being a wife, mother and friend.
Kathy was predeceased by her parents, Frederick and Arlene Wittwer. She is survived by her husband, Frank Hodgkinson, and their three children, Brian Hodgkinson (Megan), Peter Hodgkinson, and Kristin Hodgkinson (Sophie). She is also survived by her grandson, Theo, and her brothers, John Wittwer (Joan), Frederick Wittwer (Eileen), and Robert Kloepfer (Linda).
Visitation will take place at The First Presbyterian Church of Yorktown, 2880 Crompond Road, Yorktown Heights, N.Y., on Sunday, July 19, from 2 –5 p.m. A funeral service will be held the following day at 11 a.m. at the same location.
Benjamin (Benny) Volinski
Oct. 22, 1922 – July 2, 2026
Benjamin Volinski passed away on July 2, 2026 in Londonderry, N.H. at the age of 103 after living a great life in which he did all the things he ever wanted to do and had fun doing them.
Florence (Krajewski), his wife of almost 80 years, predeceased him in January 2023. He is survived by his four sons: Carl Benjamin of Carlsbad, Calif., Benjamin Jr. and his wife Judith of North Andover, Mass., Joel Michael and his wife Ana of Havana, Fla., and Mark Anthony and his wife, Karenann, of Mattituck. Benny also leaves three granddaughters: Amy Carman, wife of Charles, of Valhalla, N.Y., Sarah Mayeda, wife of Eric of River Forest, Ill., and Rachel Neuhaus of Chester, N.Y.; and three grandsons Jay Volinski, husband of Catherine, of Danville, N.H., Jeffrey Volinski, husband of Faaria, of Tokyo, Japan, and Jonathan, husband of Jennifer, of Groveland, Mass. He leaves 13 great-grandchildren: Emma Neuhaus, Elliott Mayeda, Zoe Carman, Charlotte Neuhaus, Lila Mayeda, Bryce Carman, Kristof Neuhaus, Barrett Neuhaus, and Micah, Arielle, Owen, Hanna and Niko Volinski.
Benny loved people and made friends easily wherever he went. He was a “glass half-full” guy, notwithstanding the hardships he endured in his early life. He was born in Orient, the seventh of eight sons of Joseph and Bertha, two Polish immigrants. His father did not speak English and could not read or write.
Polish was Benny’s first language. Four of his older brothers died in a railroad crossing accident in Peconic, in Nov. 1928 when Benny was 6 years old. Not long thereafter, his parents split up, and he moved from town to town, living first with his mother, then his father and for a while with each of his two older surviving brothers, with little opportunity to put down roots or go to school. His mother died when he was 9, and, as a youngster, he took on many of the responsibilities of the head of a household comprised of his father and his younger brother. All of this was happening during the Great Depression.
He would later become proud of the fact that, despite his limited schooling, his sons and grandchildren would go on to graduate from some of the most prestigious colleges and universities in the country and become doctors, lawyers, professors, teachers, consultants and business owners.
Benny was naturally intelligent, worked hard and had a strong moral compass.
After working on farms and commercial fishing in his teens, he learned to be an automobile mechanic. He attempted to enlist in the armed services after the attack on Pearl Harbor but was not accepted due to a heart murmur condition.
He did his part, however, when at the age of 19 he served as crew supervisor in the Greenport shipyards during World War II, building minesweepers for the U.S. Navy. He married Florrie in 1943, and after the war, set himself up as an independent mechanic working from his backyard. He then built a Shell service station on Willow Hill in Southold, where he repaired and sold cars and, in his spare time, built a jalopy that he raced at Riverhead Raceway on Saturday nights.
He became a successful and trusted car salesman and, ultimately was approved by General Motors to buy the Oldsmobile dealership in Southold, renaming it Volinski Olds. The business provided jobs for multiple mechanics, service and parts managers, salesmen, cleaners and secretaries. He won many awards, including trips overseas, from Oldsmobile for exceeding sales expectations. His fellow Olds dealers elected him president of the Long Island Oldsmobile Network.
He owned several boats over the years, usually named “Florrie,” that he moored in Peconic Bay and frequently took out friends and family as well as Oldsmobile executives from “up the island,” to enjoy fishing and cruising around the scenic bay. He always knew the best spots for weakfish, porgies and fluke.
He was an avid golfer, taking up the game when he was 39 and continuing to play until he was 95 and he shot seven holes-in-one during his playing days.
He was a volunteer fireman for the Southold Fire Department, responding to the fire whistle that sounded throughout the town whenever a fire occurred, and he took his turn leading the Packard Hose Company of the Fire Department for a term.
After retiring from Volinski Olds, he and Florrie moved to Boynton Beach, Fla. where they continued to make new friends while staying in touch with old ones.
In 2018, they moved to an assisted living facility in the adjacent town of Lake Worth, where Florrie passed away in 2023. In July 2025, in order to be closer to family, Benny moved to Londonderry, N.H. where he resided at The Orchard Inn at the Baldwin, an assisted living facility with substantial nursing support.
The irony is not lost that a man not accepted by the U.S. armed services due to a heart condition went on to live almost 104 years. Benny had the heart of a lion and enough optimism, energy and faith to overcome all of life’s challenges.
Benny’s cremains will be interred alongside those of Florrie at the Sacred Heart Cemetery adjacent to Our Lady of Ostrabrama R.C. Church in Cutchogue, where he and his family were parishioners for many decades. A mass in celebration of his life will be held at that church on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026.
