Longtime friend, business owner and family man of Davis Park, James (Jim) Tully was lost over the winter. He died at the age of 85 on December 12, 2023.
Jim first started coming out to Davis Park as a child after his family moved to Patchogue from Queens. He spent many summer days playing volleyball on the beach, where the locals played the city guys.
Jim met his wife, Barbara, at Patchogue-Medford High School, which was then located where South Ocean Middle School is now. They met in 1957, and married in 1958.
Jim started his business, Hampton Drainage, right out of high school. He maintained his love of Davis Park and as his family grew, he would take them to the beach regularly in their open top boat, soaking them all on the way. His love of Davis Park was infectious, and despite the rough crossings (or perhaps because of them), the entire family became rooted pillars of the community. That relationship continues today.
Through his company and the work he did, Jim made connections with numerous local business owners. In 1989, he bought the Davis Park Casino with Clern LaFountaine, Wes Little and Neil Esposito.
The entire community came together to celebrate the Casino’s 50th Anniversary in 1995 with a Grucci firework show and festive cocktail party. After a series of storms that summer that devastated the beach and caused several homes to be washed away, the complex was being moved back on the dune when disaster struck in 1996, and a January nor’easter sent the Casino tumbling into the ocean, washing it away. It had stood in the same spot (with some additions and permutations) since 1945. Undeterred, Jim and his partners began building the new Casino immediately, finishing the building in four short months. A spectacular sight, it was floated over the bay on two barges. With some additional renovations in the mid-2000s, it is the building we see and enjoy today.
Jim loved coming over every summer for dinner with his children and grandchildren. His favorite drink was the “Tully Margarita,” which you can find on the menu at the Casino Café.
Jim Tully passed away as he lived, surrounded by his family. He asked that his ashes be spread in the Great South Bay. His daughter Kristin said, “While he is deeply missed by his family, friends and the community, his spirit and soul reside at Davis Park, and we know he is there drinking beside us at his favorite place.”
Jim Tully is survived by his wife Barbara; son Richard Tully, his wife Jennifer and children James, Julia, Christopher and Caroline; daughter Kristin, her husband Jeff Downs and their daughters Katie and Emily; and daughter Jill Tully and her and daughter Olivia. He was waked at the Robertaccio Funeral Home in Patchogue, with countless photos of a life well lived and an endless stream of friends giving condolences to and sharing stories with the family. He will be missed.
