In Memoriam: Longtime Rumsonite, ‘Queen of Social Intoxication,’ Diane Dey, 95

Longtime Rumsonite Diane Merrall Dey, 95, more recently of Atlantic Highlands, “received her angel wings on Saturday evening, Feb. 7. She departed peacefully at home, in the presence of her loving daughter, Merrall, while the Commendation of the Dying was invoked by Father Hank Hilton.”

“Diane’s entrance to heaven was greeted with the overjoyed embrace of many friends and family members who preceded her in death …

“Following her marriage to Dartmouth’s favorite son, E. William Dey, in 1952, she raised her four kids — Carroll, Kimmy, Billy, Merrall — in Rumson. She found great satisfaction in organizing and running a daytime preschool playgroup for many years. She also believed in advocating for and supporting people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.Hence, her many years with ARC. One of her most cherished memories with ARC was that of chaperoning a large group of young adults on a cruise to Bermuda.
Most nights were recognized with laughter and dancing until 3 a.m. Judith Hilton was her favorite!

“Diane’s salient feature was her beauty. This Queen of Social Intoxication loved a good party! Like her uncle, Norman Francis Carroll, holding court at the Princeton Club bar, she held court at Sea Bright Beach Club (SBBC) every summer, starting in 1962. SBBC will never be the same.

“Besides Sea Bright Beach Club, the Catholic church was another second home. It offered stability, nourishing her soul and mind.”
Loved ones of Diane Dey in her obituary

Diane was born on Oct. 11, 1930, in Orange, the daughter of the late William and Janet Merrall. Raised in South Orange, long before Sea Bright Beach Club, Diane’s passion for the beach grew exponentially while at the family’s summer house in Allenhurst and the Allenhurst Beach Club.

Diane’s formal education at Marylawn of the Oranges Academy was followed with matriculating at Georgetown Visitation (D.C.) which was, at the time, the oldest women’s catholic college in America.

Diane was predeceased by her daughter, Kimberly Anne Dey, who passed away on Feb. 15, 2016.

She is survived by: her children, Carroll, of Washington, D.C., Billy, and his wife, Stephanie, of Walpole, NH, and Merrall, and her husband, Rich Freund, of West Long Branch; her grandchildren, Pierson and Jack Dey, Delanie and Garrett Freund; her nieces and nephews, Penny, Robin, Andrew and Tom Dey, and Jim Pope.

A memorial visitation will be held on Wednesday, May 27, from 10 to 11 a.m. at the Church of the Nativity, 180 Ridge Rd., Fair Haven, NJ 07704. A mass of christian burial will begin at 11.

— Edited obituary prepared by family via Thompson Memorial Home