Ronkonkoma couple killed in single-car crash into tree
A Ronkonkoma road is closed after an accident Saturday that killed a Ronkonkoma couple. Credit: Neil Miller
A Ronkonkoma couple, married for 54 years, were both killed in Ronkonkoma when they crashed into a tree, police said.
They were driving west on Peconic Street at about 11:20 a.m. on Saturday when their white Subaru Forester veered off the road across the eastbound lane and hit the tree, police said.
Margaret, 75, and Walter Jakubowski, 83, who was driving the vehicle, were both pronounced dead at the scene. No other vehicles were involved, and the cause of the crash is under investigation, police said.
Walter Jakubowski, known as "Butch," was born in Bayonne, New Jersey. Margaret Jakubowski was born in Park Slope, Brooklyn.
The couple met on separate skiing trips to New Hampshire. They moved to Ronkonkoma in 1973 to be closer to family and raise their three children, according to son Sean Jakubowski, 52, of Center Moriches; daughter Dorene Gallup, 47, of Ronkonkoma; and son Mark Jakubowski, 49, of Cary, North Carolina.
Walter Jakubowski, and his wife, Margaret Jakubowski, of Ronkonkoma, died in a single-vehicle crash on Saturday. Credit: Jakubowski family
"We’ll always remember the love, compassion and nurturing from my mother and father, and our father instilling work ethic and discipline," Mark Jakubowski said. "They ended up being parents to all our friends and cousins. They became part of everyone’s lives who they met."
Butch Jakubowski served in the U.S. Marine Corps straight out of high school from 1960 to 1964 and went on to work as a contractor with his brother-in-law. He also worked as a custodian and in the mail room for the Connetquot school district, where he retired, the family said.
Margaret Jakubowski went to cosmetology school and opened a hair salon in their basement. She later took a part-time job to save for skiing trips every winter, work that turned into her career at Blue Cross Blue Shield for more than 20 years. She went on to manage an office building in Bohemia before she retired.
The couple had just come back from a family trip in Ireland with Mark Jakubowski to visit cousins abroad. They were devoted to their grandchildren and never missed a school event or birthday party, Dorene Gallup said.
"Together, they built a home that was always open — welcoming family, friends, and anyone in need of a warm meal, a kind word, or a helping hand," the family wrote in an obituary for the couple. "Though we grieve their loss, we take comfort in knowing that they are together again, as they always were."
A joint service for the couple is planned from 3 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday at Moloney Family Funeral Homes, 1320 Lakeland Ave. in Bohemia.
The family is asking in lieu of flowers that donations be made to Cure HHT or Saving Grace Animals for Adoption.
More coverage: Every 7 minutes on average a traffic crash causing death, injury or significant property damage happens on Long Island. A Newsday investigation found that traffic crashes killed more than 2,100 people between 2014 and 2023 and seriously injured more than 16,000 people. To search for fatal crashes in your area, click here.
Snow totals may be less across the South Shore A winter storm is expected to pummel LI as artic air settles in across the region. NewsdayTV meteorologist Geoff Bansen has the forecast.
Snow totals may be less across the South Shore A winter storm is expected to pummel LI as artic air settles in across the region. NewsdayTV meteorologist Geoff Bansen has the forecast.
