Obituaries

Joseph T. Pugsley Jr.

Former Riverhead resident Joseph T. Pugsley Jr. of Norwood, N.C. died Sept. 16 at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, N.C. He was 73. 

Mr. Pugsley was born Feb. 19, 1942, in Port Jefferson to Florence (Drumm) and Joseph T. Pugsley Sr. and graduated from Riverhead High School.

A veteran, Mr. Pugsley dedicated over 30 years of his life to military and government service. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1961 to 1964, and was on the USS Independence when it was the first ship sent to assist in the Cuban Missile Crisis. After his discharge from the Navy, Mr. Pugsley began working in 1965 for Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corp. in Calverton. In 1991 he transferred to Northrop Grumman Corp. in St. Augustine, Fla., where he worked until retirement.

Mr. Pugsley is survived by his ex-wife, Joanna; his sons, Lance, of Valrico, Fla. and Justin, of Norwood, N.C.; his brother, Charles and three grandchildren. He was predeceased by his sisters, Frances and Lyndia.

Funeral services were held Sept. 19 at Edwards Funeral Home in Norwood, N.C., where full military rites were presented. Burial took place Sept. 24 at National Veterans Cemetery in Salisbury, N.C.