James T. Dubovick of Cutchogue died March 7, 2026, at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care after a brief hospital stay. He was 81 years old.
Born Nov. 7, 1944, in East New York, Brooklyn, he was the son of Mary (Kasper) and Peter Dubovick and was the middle of three children.After high school, he attended Hofstra University and Fairleigh Dickinson Dental School. While at Hofstra, he played lacrosse and football and loved his time with his fraternity brothers. In 1968, in Garden City, he married Brook (Halbert) Dubovick. Together, they had two children and made their home in Cutchogue. Prior to living on the North Fork, he lived in Pax River, Maryland, at the naval air station, and he also enjoyed many decades at his home in Key West, Florida, and fishing in Missoula, Montana, almost every year for 27 years.
He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1970 and served for two years during the Vietnam era, attaining the rank of lieutenant and receiving the National Defense Service Medal.
In his professional career, he ran his own private dental practice on Main Road in Southold for 46 years after his discharge. He also was the owner of the Chowder Pot Pub Restaurant in Greenport for 35 years. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Southold.
His family said his home in Cutchogue was an open and revolving door for friends and family for holidays and weekend adventures. They said he was an athlete his whole life who loved sports and supporting those of his children, and that he enjoyed fishing on the Peconic Bay, skiing in Vermont and Utah, hiking in Switzerland, fly-fishing in Montana, duck hunting, motorcycle trips, jazz concerts and horseback tours. He was a world traveler who loved sharing meals with friends and family, including a Barolo, and his family said he was a chef who could master any dish.
He was predeceased by his wife, Brook, two months prior to his passing. He is survived by his children, Brant Dubovick (Denise) and Tracy Wynder (Christopher); his grandchildren, Cael Peter Wynder and Hailyn Jane Wynder; his siblings, Petera Mironchik, Elena Davis and Lynne Halbert; his adopted family, Levent Karaloglu (Gulden), Alain Pinon (Emily) and their son, Hudson; and his godson, Jimmy Mironchik.
The family will receive friends Friday, May 8, 2026, from 5 to 8 p.m. at the DeFriest-Grattan Funeral Home in Southold, where U.S. Navy funeral honors will be rendered. Interment will be private at Southold Presbyterian Cemetery, where he will be laid to rest with his wife, Brook.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Stephen B. Carlin/Walter W. Rudolph Endowed Memorial Scholarship at Hofstra by contacting the director for alumni affairs or calling 516-463-4134.
