Daughter Of Famed Builder Killed In Hamptons Plane Crash Dies

AMAGANSETT, NY — Not even a year after a tragic plane crash off the coast of Amagansett took the lives of famed builder Ben Krupinski, his wife Bonnie, and their grandson William Maerov, heartbreak has struck again — Laura Krupinksi, the couple's daughter and William's mother, died this week at her home in Southampton.

She was just 52 years old.

Southampton Town Police confirmed Krupinski's death and said the results of an autopsy were pending.

In an interview with Patch, Laura Krupinski's uncle, Kevin Ackley, a longtime East Hampton resident and Ben Krupinski's half brother, who now lives in Florida, remembered his niece. "Laura was a kind, loving, giving person her whole life," he said. "She loved her kids."

Laura Krupinski and her former husband Lance Maerov also have a daughter, Charlotte.

A service will be held Saturday at 10 a.m. at Most Holy Trinity Church in East Hampton, Ackley said.

Ackley said his niece had found new love and died in his arms; he believes she died of natural causes.

Hearing the news, he said, "really hit home. Recently, Laura connected with us for the first time in more than 30 years." When they first spoke again, the pair had a five-hour conversation, Ackley said, adding that he had just spoken to her as recently as Monday, before she later died.

But the heartbreak of her son's death devastated his niece, Ackley said.

"Losing her son William in that plane crash and never finding his body — it was eating away at her," he said.

Despite being estranged from her parents before their death, Laura, Ackley said, was "really getting her life back together." With her life on the upswing, the news of her death was that much more painful, Ackley said. "We were in shock."

Her uncle shared heartfelt memories: "Laura was good person — kind, giving, sharing. She faced lot of turmoil . . . but I can tell you she was on her way back. She's gone far too soon. All the stress of losing her parents and her son just took its toll and God said, 'It's time to see your son,'" Ackley wrote on Facebook after learning of her death. "May you sing with the angels. We love you forever. RIP, Laura — no more suffering."

When she was young, Laura, Ackley said, called her parents "Mimi" and "Pop Pop."

In better times, Ackley added, Laura was a top fashion model. "They called her a young Elizabeth Taylor. She did covers for 'Vogue,' and with Fabio," he said. "At one time she reportedly dated Matt Dillon," he said. "But she went through hell this past year."

Still, he said, just before she died, Laura was "in the best spirits she had been in a long time, critiquing the Oscars and the stars' dresses the night before."

Ackley said he and his father Fred were heartbroken at her passing. "We love you, we will miss you, and we are so glad we got to reconnect. She should be remembered as a caring, loving mother. Heaven gained a new angel. We celebrate my late niece Laura in life, all her incredible accomplishments — and the two loves of her life, her kids."

After an exhaustive search last year, the wreckage of the Piper PA31 Navajo that crashed off the coast of Amagansett in June was located approximately one mile off Atlantic Avenue Beach — with the bodies of the Krupinskis and their pilot Jon Dollard, 47, of Hampton Bays, recovered after the tragedy.

The body of Laura's son William, just 22, was never found.

A funeral service for the Krupinskis and their grandson took place in East Hampton.

A four-plane wreath drop flyover "in honor of Ben, Bonnie, Will and Jon, lost on June 2, 2108," was organized by the East Hampton Aviation Association; famed "builder to the stars" Ben Krupinski and his wife, as well as his grandson and Dollard have been mourned by countless on the East End.