Longtime volunteer Walter Fish dead at 84

Whether it was thousands of hours spent at Sagamore Hill or serving as treasurer of the local ambulance corps, Walter Fish was always volunteering for something.

"He was a doer; he always wanted to be someone who participated. And he was always in leadership roles," his son Jonathan said of the 84-year-old Bellmore resident who died of a heart attack Thursday.

The certified public accountant "was vibrant and worked to the day he died," full-time in tax season and part-time the rest of the year, his son added.

Fish's urge to pitch in was most visible at Sagamore Hill National Historic Site in Cove Neck, where over 16 years he had volunteered more than 4,000 hours, earning a commendation from President Barack Obama that was to have been presented to him at the park later this year and will now go to his family. He also helped found the nonprofit support group Friends of Sagamore Hill in 1995 and served as president. The organization has raised more than $125,000, site Superintendent Thomas Ross said.

"Walter Fish did a great deal for the TRA and Sagamore Hill, and he will be sorely missed," said Tweed Roosevelt of Boston, president of the Theodore Roosevelt Association and great-grandson of the 26th president.

Ross said "he enjoyed interacting with visitors and was our only volunteer to work in the visitor center" after starting out giving tours.

"He loved Teddy Roosevelt and read so much about him," his son said. Fish enjoyed meeting people from all over the world at Sagamore Hill or during his extensive travels around the globe with his family.

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Born in the Bronx, Fish grew up in Long Beach where he graduated from Long Beach High School. After enlisting in the Navy at age 17 -- World War II ended before he saw combat -- he attended the University of Pennsylvania. He began working as an accountant after graduation. He had lived in Bellmore since 1956.

"Virtually his entire life he had volunteered at things," his son recalled. He was president of the synagogue at the Bellmore Jewish Center; Democratic leader of Bellmore and presidential delegate for Robert F. Kennedy in 1968; a leader in the Knights of Pythias; treasurer of the Bellmore-Merrick Volunteer Ambulance Company; on the board of Central Federal Savings and Loan in Long Beach; and a Little League coach and Cub Scout leader when his sons were young.

"He was opinionated, and he shared those opinions," his son said. Some of those who worked with him said he could be difficult but all praised his energy and good intentions.

In addition to Jonathan of Manhattan, he is survived by his wife of 58 years, Sandra; sons Mark of Jerusalem, Israel, and Kenneth of Manhattan, and seven grandchildren.

He was buried Friday at New Montefiore Cemetery in East Farmingdale.