Memorial Service Planned for Otis Pike May 24

A public memorial service is planned Saturday, May 24, to celebrate the life of former Congressman Otis G. Pike, who died January 20, this year.

The service will be held at First Congregational Church in Pike’s hometown of Riverhead.

Pike represented the East End in the House of Representatives for nine terms in the 1960s and ’70s. He was born in Riverhead and attended Riverhead public schools before going on to attend Princeton University and Columbia University Law School. He served as a Marine Corps pilot in the Pacific Theater during World War II and was awarded five air medals. In 1954, he became a justice of the peace in Riverhead Town, and later was elected to the Riverhead Town Board. He joined Congress in 1961 and was continuiouslty re-elected until he decided not to run again in 1978.

His last residence was Vero Beach, Florida.

Before the memorial service, visiting hours at the Reginald H. Tuthill Funeral Home, 406 East Main Street, Riverhead, will be 7 to 9 p.m. on Thursday, May 22, and 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. on Friday, May 23.

Speakers at the May 24 memorial service will include former Congressman George  Hochbreuckner, current Congressman Tim Bishop, New York State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle, and journalist Karl Grossman.

First Congregational Church is located at 103 First Street, Riverhead.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributing to the Friends of the Riverhead Free Library, the Nature Conservancy, or local public radio and television.