George G. Semerjian

SEMERJIAN, George G., 92, of Southampton, NY, passed September 22, 2016. Predeceased by his wife, Madelle Hegeler Semerjian. Survived by his loving sister Mary Semerjian Smith. Cherished uncle of James A. Tarzian (Susan), and Maryann Tarzian (Pat Britt). Devoted cousin to James M. Tarzian. His memory lives on in the hearts of his five grandnieces and grandnephews. Reposing at O.B. Davis Funeral Homes, 4839 Nesconset Hwy, Port Jefferson Sta., on Monday from 2-4 p.m. and 7-9 p.m. Private service and burial at Southampton Cemetery. Family requests in lieu of flowers: St. Vartan Armenian Cathedral, 630 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10016.

Born December 31, 1923 in Brooklyn NY to Armenian immigrant parents, Levon and Makruhi (Margaret), George graduated from Brooklyn Tech High School and entered the Air Force rising to B-29 bombardier during WWII. After the war, George returned to Brooklyn and took his only ever 9am-5pm office job working for a steel reinforcing company, while lifeguarding on the summer weekends at Lake Ronkonkoma LI. There, he observed a rundown rooming house which he bought in 1950 and converted into a restaurant called the Suffolk House. This was the first page in a long catalogue of real estate foresights.

While attending Hofstra University in the 1950s, he left the steel reinforcing company and became partners with the owner of a cement ready mix company. Those two later became founding partners in 1958 when they formed the Suffolk Material and Mining Company. By 1961, much of that business had been profitably sold off and George acquired 10 acres of largely undeveloped commercial space in Whitestone, Queens, which he rezoned for light industrial use.

George acquired the Southampton Bath and Tennis Club within a few years and ran the club personally until its sale in the late 1990s. This was the first of many properties George developed over the next forty years in Southampton, under his umbrella company Meadowmere Realty and Construction, formed in the early 1970s. He converted the Irving Hotel into the residential condos on First Neck Lane and laid out the properties on Terry Court. He acquired the nearly 40 acre Coopers Farm and created an entire neighborhood of single family homes on that property, eventually building the residential condos that lay behind the Library. Well into his eighties, he transformed the Hill Street auto sites into commercial properties housing many local and national businesses.

While residing in Southampton and keeping a pied a terre in New York, George met and married Madelle Hegeler, who remained his wife until her death in 1991. Both George and Madelle were active supporters of the Southampton (Roger Memorial) Library donating time and property, as evidenced by a building wing named in her honor. George’s philanthropic efforts extended to numerous local organizations and individuals, as well as maintaining his long time support of the Armenian Church. For most of his life, George (“Gago” to his family and close friends) was heavily involved in the community, serving on the Southampton Cultural Center’s Board of Directors, holding various officer positions for the Long Island Builders Association, and a full time usher at St. John’s Episcopal Church on South Main Street, Southampton.

“Gago” will be fondly remembered and deeply missed by all those fortunate enough to have been blessed by his friendship.