Unofficial mayor of Sag Harbor dies at 91

Last weekend, Sag Harbor lost one of its most beloved longtime residents.

Stanley Bubka, 91, who was dubbed one of the “unofficial mayors of Sag Harbor” by his son Bob, died of kidney failure and congestive heart failure at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday at Southampton Hospital, surrounded by his three children, Bob, 65, Tom, 64, and Nancy Josselyn, 60.

Along with his three children, Mr. Bubka is survived by five grandchildren, Robin, Robert, Todd, Jennifer and Lane, and two great-grandchildren, Jarrett and Mia.

Mr. Bubka was a proud member of the Sag Harbor Fire Department until the day he died; his son Bob, an East Hampton resident, said on Tuesday that he attended a department meeting as recently as one month ago. He described his father as a hard worker who retired from the Bulova Watchcase Factory and began a second career as the owner and operator of Korsak’s Madison Meat Market with his wife, Ann, who predeceased him just six months ago.

“My mother’s parents started it back in the ’30s,” Bob said, explaining how his father came to be a butcher at Korsak’s, famous for his sausages and penchant for chatting with customers. “He loved people,” Mr. Bubka’s eldest son said, noting that even after his parents sold the market in 1975, his father remained there working for at least three different owners until he finally hung up his apron at age 84.

“He made the best sausage in the world,” lifelong Sag Harbor local and Village Clerk Sandra Schroeder said this week, fondly recalling Mr. Bubka and the Meat Market, which is now Agave’s Mexican take-out. “Everybody used to go there for [his sausage],” Ms. Schroeder said to nods of agreement from staffers and visitors at Village Hall this week. Some remembered the penny candy counter at Korsak’s and all chuckled about Mr. Bubka’s gift of gab.

“You go in to buy something, you spent some time,” Ms. Schroeder said, adding that the shop owner would always draw a smile from visitors. “He was a doll,” she said, “an absolute doll.”

Bob said his father shared his famous sausage recipe with his daughter, Ms. Josselyn, while he was in the hospital, adding that “it will remain a family secret.”

Mr. Bubka’s death was not totally expected, his son said, though he noted that his father had not been quite the same since losing the love of his life and his wife of 67 years, Ann, earlier this year. Though he was born and raised in Brooklyn, Mr. Bubka, who was already a “class A butcher,” found a home in Sag Harbor after meeting his future wife, the daughter of a butcher, at Polish Hall in Southampton. The two married in 1940 and Bob said he recently found a copy of the Sag Harbor Express from that year, which featured their wedding photo on the cover and an advertisement for Korsak’s on the back.

Mr. Bubka was one of eight siblings; “10 if you include two that died at birth,” Bob said. His 88-year-old sister, Jenny Nogatki, came to see him at the hospital the day before he died, and he was able to speak to his brother Chester as well.

Bob, who is a golf radio broadcaster and author, said his father also loved golf, though he never played particularly well. Mr. Bubka was a member of the Sag Harbor Golf Club, serving as president for one year, and was a member of the Sag Harbor Lions Club for more than 30 years, his son said.

Of all Mr. Bubka’s accomplishments, Bob said his father was most proud of his 59 years of service in the Otter Hose Company of the Sag Harbor Fire Department. “He loved the monthly meetings,” he said, noting that after Mr. Bubka could no longer drive, a fellow fireman would kindly take him to and from the meetings.

“The importance of the fire department I can’t stress enough,” Bob said, adding that the department has given his family “overwhelming” support since his father died and had planned a special service for Mr. Bubka on Tuesday. “Sometimes the fire departments don’t get the credit they deserve,” he said.

Plans called for Mr. Bubka to be buried in his uniform on Wednesday. His casket was to be taken from Yardley and Pino Funeral Home to St. Andrew’s Church and then St. Andrew’s Cemetery on the Otter Hose antique fire truck, following the same procedure that the fire department followed with his wife’s casket.

“It will go past the store,” Bob said, adding that the truck would also drive past his father’s home of 40 years on Jermain Avenue before he was laid to rest. “It’s a pretty small circle,” Bob said, reflecting on his father’s life in the village he loved.

In lieu of flowers, donations to the Sag Harbor Fire Department or the Sag Harbor Ambulance Corps would be appreciated by the family.