| Riverhead Town Fire Marshal Edward R. Kukla died April 14, three days shy of his 59th wedding anniversary, at the Hamptons Center for Rehabilitation and Nursing in Southampton. He was 82.
The cause was cardiopulmonary arrest, after a long battle with Alzheimer's disease, family members said.
Mr. Kukla was born in Jamaica, N.Y., on April 7, 1926, to Stanley and Helen (Laskowski) Kukla. He was raised in Riverhead and graduated from Riverhead High School in 1944.
He was inducted into the U.S. Army Air Corps on Aug. 7, 1944, serving as an armorer and tail gunner on a B-29. He saw action during World War II in Guam and Saipan with the 73rd Wing and the 314th Wing of the 20th Air Force, according to his son, Andrew, and was discharged August 27, 1946.
After training in the radio and television field, he opened his own business, Ed Kukla's Television Service, in Hampton Bays. He repaired TVs and installed antennas up and down the South Fork in the days before the advent of cable television. He sold the business in 1984, after 35 years of operation.
He began working for the Town of Riverhead fire marshal's office in 1985, retiring 18 years later. Ray Wiwczar, who worked with Mr. Kukla while he was fire marshal, said in an interview this week: "He started out as fire inspector and whenever I needed him, he would help me out. Ed wasn't the kind of guy who'd say, 'That's not my job'.
Mr. Kukla was also a 60-year volunteer with the Riverhead Fire Department and served as captain of the Red Bird Hook and Ladder Company.
He was also a dedicated member and past president of the Riverhead Lions Club, and past district governor of District 20S, with 55 local clubs reporting to him. Roger McCabe, also a past president of the Riverhead Lions, recalled this week how Mr. Kukla had visited all 55 Suffolk County clubs, while raising a family and running his own business. "'Kuk' set a higher standard that each of us strives for and are deeply appreciative to have served with," he said.
Predeceased by a daughter, Pamela Botsford, Mr. Kukla is survived by his wife, Veronica ("Ronnie"); his children Peg Proctor of Livonia, N.Y., Tom, of Sandy Hook, Conn., and Barbara, of DesPlaines, Ill.; his brothers, Billy, of Texas, Bobby, of Jamesport, and Stanley and Arthur, both of Connecticut; 11 grandchildren; and three great-grandchildren.
Family received visitors April 18 at Reginald H. Tuthill Funeral Home in Riverhead, where firematic and Lions Club services were held. The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated April 19 at St. John the Evangelist R.C. Church, Riverhead, after a procession past the firehouse and between two hook-and-ladder trucks with an American flag suspended between them. Father Thomas Coby officiated at the service. Interment with military honors, attended by an Honor Guard, followed at St. John's Cemetery.
Memorial donations may be directed to the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, 371 E. Jericho Turnpike, Smithtown, NY 11787 or The Alzheimer's Association of Long Island, Suite E, 3281 Veterans Memorial Highway, Ronkonkoma, NY 11779. |
