Peter Paul Dykovitz

Lifelong East Marion resident Peter Paul Dykovitz died Nov. 10 at Stony Brook University Hospital. He was 95 years old.

He was born May 29, 1918, at Eastern Long Island Hospital to Sophie and Stanley Dykovitz. He played football and ran track at Greenport High School, graduating in 1938.

Mr. Dykovitz went on to study diesel engines and related subjects at a technical school in Brooklyn, then joined the Merchant Marine. At sea when World War II began, he served as a petty officer on a troop ship and made four trips to the Mediterranean, twice bringing back prisoners of war, family members said. During his service, he enrolled in the Merchant Marine Officers Training School at Fort Trumbull in New London, Conn., becoming an engineer with the rank of ensign. He was serving in Belgium when the war in Europe ended and was back home at the end of the war with Japan. After the war, Mr. Dykovitz worked at the United Nations for five years and then at Plum Island for 25. He retired early and family members said he “lived longer than he worked.”

He was an active member of the Riverhead Moose, American Legion Post 185 in Greenport and the Merchant Marine Peconic Bay Chapter for retired officers. He also belonged to the Triangle Yacht Club in Greenport. According to family members, he loved spending time on the water in one of his several boats and enjoyed working on his house, gardening and traveling in the United States and abroad.

Predeceased by his wife of 52 years, Camelia, Mr. Dykovitz is survived by his brother, Stanley, and relatives in New Jersey.

The family will receive visitors Thursday, Nov. 14, from 2 to 4 p.m. at Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport. A graveside service and burial with military honors will take place Friday, Nov. 15, at the family plot in St. Agnes Cemetery, also in Greenport.

Memorial donations may be made to East End Hospice, P.O. Box 1048, Westhampton Beach, NY 11978.