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John A. Frith
John Alfred Frith of Bridgehampton died on April 6. He was 62.
Born on June 14, 1949, in Saratoga Springs, to Clara and Norman Frith, he grew up in Saratoga, attended Saratoga High School and graduated in 1967 to go on to attend the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. There he met Jane Van Nostrand, the start of a 45-year love affair.
Mr. Frith suffered from a number of long-term illnesses and was under constant care of doctors, family and wonderful friends over the past 20 years. In his last days, he was surrounded by his family. They told jokes and lightened his spirits, as he would have wished it to be.
Mr. Frith married Ms. Van Nostrand in August 1973, and the couple lived in Saratoga and Albany. He began his own business, Digilin Audio Lab, and also worked for Randix Industries, a subsidy of RCA. In 1977, his first child Justin Dray, was born. His daughter Meaghan Alexis was born in 1981.
That same year, he was hired as a senior systems electronics engineer at ITT in Southampton and the family relocated to Long Island. The Frith family lived with Mrs. Frith’s parents, renovated a building on their property and began the journey of raising children and caring for her elderly parents.
In 1984, Mr. Frith began working for Bran Ferran in Wainscott. He was integral to special effects production, working on projects for “Manhattan Project,” “Making Mr. Right,” “Little Shop of Horrors,” and classified government projects, among others.
When Mr. Ferran sold his business to the Walt Disney Company, Mr. Frith stayed on and became an “Imagineer.” In 1996, he retired due to health issues. He was well known for his brilliant integration of engineering and creative design. He maintained an avid interest in physics, astronomy and gourmet cooking throughout his life, and was well known for his quick wit and dry humor.
He is survived by his wife, Jane, a nurse practitioner in psychiatry; their son Justin Dray; daughter, Meaghan Alexis and son-in-law Michael Guzman; as well as step-grandsons Deilyn and Maykell, and grandson. Xavier Alexi. He is also survived by a half brother, Norman and his wife Cathy, from Islip. With family roots in England and Bermuda, as well as Turks and Caicos, Mr. Frith visited Scotland and England last year to see his elderly aunts and uncle in Ipswich, UK.
A memorial service is planned for June 2, at 1 p.m. at the family home in Bridgehampton. Those planning to attend, should RSVP to (631) 725-4975 or johnafrithmemorial@Gmail.com. Donations may be made to The Kidney Foundation, www.kidney.org.
on May 6, 2012