Longtime Fair Haven resident and veteran member and past president of the Fair Haven Fire Company Ladies’ Auxiliary, Ruth A. Sonnichsen Binaco passed away on April 24. She was 88.

Before living her final years at Bayside Manor Assisted Living in Keansburg, Ruth raised her family in Fair Haven after marrying her husband, Philip, who was her New Shrewsbury (Tinton Falls) next door neighbor,  1955.

In Fair Haven, Ruth was also a substitute teacher in the elementary schools. A graduate of the State University of NY at Oswego with a degree in elementary education, in New Jersey, Ruth also taught at Navesink Elementary School in Middletown, Highland Manor Girls School in West Long Branch (on the site of what is currently Monmouth University). Her first teaching job was in Niagra Falls, NY, where she taught fifth grade.

Born in New York City to Thomas and Emma Sonnichsen, Ruth was raised on 63^rd Street in Brooklyn, and often worked in her father’s deli while growing up. She attended P.S. 140, Bay Ridge and Fort Hamilton High Schools, and East Aurora, NY High School while she worked for a short time as a live-in mother’s helper for her sister.  Until 1943, her family enjoyed summering at their cottage on Rockaway Point.

In addition to serving on the Fair Haven Fire Company Ladies’ Auxiliary since 1973, presiding in 1983, Ruth was a devoted member of Holy Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church of Red Bank, where she was a member of the Priscilla and Ruth Circles.

Ruth was a wonderful cook, and for many years she roasted two or three additional Thanksgiving turkeys to serve at the church’s Thanksgiving meal for the needy.

Ruth was predeceased by: her husband of 62 years, Philip, in May 2017; her devoted sister, Grace Millstone; and her first grandson, David Daniel Binaco.

She is survived by: her three sons, Philip Andrew, David (and his wife Kristine), and Matthew; her grandsons, Raymond A. Binaco and Russell L. Bianco; her dear sister, Marjorie Woods, of Florida; and her loving brother, Thomas Sonnichsen, of Virginia; her brother-in-law, Raymond Binaco (Terri); and her sister-in-law, Flora Deady (Russell); and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to: the Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 150 River Road, Red Bank NJ 07701; or to the Fair Haven Fire Company Auxiliary, 645 River Road, Fair Haven, NJ 07704.

At Ruth’s preference, services will be private. Ruth’s family extends their thanks to the care staff of Meridian at Shrewsbury and Bayside Manor for their devoted care of Ruth over the last three years.

— Edited obituary from Thompson Memorial Home