Shelter Island turns out for fallen soldier's wake
By MARTIN C. EVANS. Residents of Shelter Island streamed toward the gray-shingled Our Lady of the Isle Roman Catholic Church through most of the day Thursday for the wake of 1st Lt. Joseph Theinert, a young soldier who had grown up among this isolated community's 2,500 residents before going off to war.. Ben Smith, 24, was one of those who came, as a warm rain fell. In the church door, he hugged James Theinert, Joseph's younger brother, leaving tears on James' lapel.. "He and Joey were so close, we used to call them Siamese twins," said Smith, who had gone from kindergarten through high school with Joseph.. "I told him I couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose a brother.". Theinert, 24, a soldier with the Army's 10th Mountain Division based at upstate Fort Drum, was killed a week ago in Afghanistan when a makeshift bomb detonated near him.. He had only begun that first deployment in March.
- MARTIN C. EVANS
Funeral plans
Theinert's funeral is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Shelter Island School, where he was a member of the Class of 2004. He will be buried following his funeral at Our Lady of the Isle Cemetery.
