Generational Polish potato farmer Anthony Stanley Babinski Jr., who tended and tilled the soil of the East End of Long Island, making rows with his favorite tractor until the ripe age of 89, passed away on the evening of Saturday, May 11, 2024. Tony, known by loved ones as “Buddy,” was born on his family’s farm on Mecox Road in Watermill to Anthony Sr. and Caroline Babinski on January 24, 1935. Tony married Theresa Hoinski and created a life; together, they founded Babinski Farmstand in the early 1970s, quickly becoming successful and widely renowned for its homegrown vegetables, vibrant flowers, and fresh baked goods. Their business can be remembered as one of the first family-owned and run gourmet farm stands in the Hamptons. An avid fisherman, hunter, trapper, and overall sportsman, Tony enjoyed the outdoors to the fullest, personifying the knowledge of a farmer’s almanac. He was an avid fan of his ”God damn Yankees” and storyteller of his days spent playing for Bridgehampton’s White Eagles or coursing the untapped wetlands of Jessup’s Neck. Anthony is survived by his two daughters, Sheila Spooner and Charlene Babinski; his grandchildren, Jesse Spooner, Carla Lillie, and Maxwell Spooner; Michelle Niles and Victoria Muller; and his eleven great-grandchildren.

Here he lies where he longed to be; Home is the sailor, home from sea, And the hunter home from the hill. – Robert Louis Stevenson