Page created by: Beth Woltering

Joseph John (“Coach”) Woltering, 81, of Westhampton, passed away on January 29, 2022 at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care in Westhampton Beach of complications from Parkinson’s disease. Mr. Woltering was born on July 30, 1940 in Queens, NY to Blanche Miriam Devins Woltering and Joseph Edward Woltering. He attended St. Joan of Arc Elementary School in Queens and St. Francis Preparatory School in Brooklyn. As a result of his basketball skills, he attended Adelphi University on a scholarship, where he earned his bachelor’s and master’s degree in education while playing on the basketball team. Mr. Woltering enjoyed a long career as a physical education teacher and athletic director in the Great Neck North public schools and, for several decades, coached boys’ basketball and led the varsity team to undefeated seasons and championships. Later on, he assisted head coach Bernard Tomlin at Stony Brook University for four seasons. Beginning in 1972 through the 1980s, Mr. Woltering was also the co-owner with Tommy Slattery of The Salty Dog Restaurant at Second Ave. and 82nd St. in Manhattan.

Mr. Woltering will be remembered for his love of the sport of basketball and for his enthusiasm for passing on the skills of the game to a new generation. Mr. Woltering gained many friends in the world of scholastic sports as well as in the hospitality industry and indeed carried over throughout his life friendships begun in his very early years at St. Joan of Arc and St. Francis Prep. He shared his great sense of humor with all he met, and friends and loved ones enjoyed sharing in his passion for movies and music, as well as enjoying the benefits of his green thumb. He was also an avid painter and surfer and enjoyed spending his days in the summer on the many beaches of the East End.

Mr. Woltering is survived by his son Joseph and wife Louise and granddaughter of Westhampton; daughter Beth of New York City; sister Blanche Cochran and husband Richard of Sarasota, FL; nephews Chris Gray and Brett Gray of California; former wife Dana Woltering Kinney and husband Vincent of Monterey, VA; and numerous cousins, great-nephews and nieces.