RFH pre-prom photos of several eras Top left photo, 1975 RFH prom/courtesy of Kathy Golden Top right photos, 2005 RFH prom & 1977/Elaine Van Develde Bottom photo, 2012/contribution of RFH parent
The pandemic has hijacked another high school tradition — prom. It would have been a big happening right about this time of the spring, and there would have been all sorts of prep — zoomed-in close encounter photos of friends and couples bonding, corsage and boutenir pinnings … those pre-prom poses. Time capsule moments of the bomb variety — as in disaster or picture perfection. TikTok? Hmmmmm … Not always.
Longtime Fair Havenite Sheila Egan Haese passed away at Riverview Medical Center on April 25 from multiple medical complications and cancer. She was 73.
Former longtime Fair Havenite and area teacher Agnes Maffey Turtur passed away peacefully at Monmouth Medical Center on April 16. She was 99.
“She was a devoted daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother who had boundless energy, caring for all those who she loved. Family meant everything to her. Whether you knew her as Agnes, Mom, Grandma, Ama, Aunt Agnes or Gigi, you could always count on her unconditional love … She was always a beach lover and for the past 9 years she adored spending summers on the cabana deck at Surfrider Beach Club in Sea Bright, talking to everyone who walked by. She celebrated her birthday there every Labor Day Weekend and everyone on the beach sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to her. Agnes never lost her cognitive ability, and was able to memorize her niece’s 10-digit phone number by one verbal cue and execute the call just four days prior to her death.”
Born to the late Charles and Marie Maffey in Elizabeth, Agnes graduated from Sacred Heart Elementary School and Battin High School there and went on to receive a B.S. in Education from Rider College in 1941. She accelerated her studies and graduated in three years, commuting every day from Elizabeth to the college in Trenton.
In 1943 she married Felix J. Turtur III, also of Elizabeth, traveling with him and teaching school wherever the U.S. Army stationed him during World War II.
In 1951, the couple settled at the Jersey Shore. They moved to Fair Haven in 1957 where they lived and raised their family for 43 years before moving to Shrewsbury in 2000.
Agnes was a teacher at the Markham Place School in Little Silver from 1957 until her retirement in 1982.
She loved traveling with her family, which included trips to Italy, Hawaii, Disney World, and many cruises and winters on Siesta Key Beach in Florida.
Agnes was predeceased by: Felix, her husband of 64 years; her sister, Grace A. Maffey; and brother, Charles G. Maffey.
She is survived by: her loving daughter, Marlane Turtur Bade, of Fair Haven; her grandchildren, Kristina Bade Binder (John), of Fair Haven and Stephen A. Bade (Kathleen) of Brielle; her great-grandchildren, Thomas, Charlotte, Logan, Delaney, Weston and step great-grandchildren, JB and Ellie; and her brother, Constant O. Maffey (Afra) of Mechanicsburg, PA.
A memorial Mass celebrating Agnes’ life will be held at a future date.
In lieu of flowers memorial donations can be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital or Wounded Warrior Project.
Oceanfront Softball Team circa 1980 Photo/Chip Irish via Facebook
As we continue to mourn the loss of the baseball season, among other athletics, due to COVID-19, thoughts, and a memory scroll on Facebook bring us back to the days of another kind of ballgame camaraderie — the softball league of the past.
On this dank, pandemic April day, everyone could use a little solitary solace. A reminder that the river that gives so many in the Rumson-Fair Haven area peace and happiness is still there. And still. Calm. Reflective.
So, we take you back a few years to 2016, when this photo gallery/slideshow was first published. There’s much irony in what it says. Take a look at the featured photo. It speaks an uncanny isolated truth about today and the very same spot. Their reflections are consoling.
They tell us that when everything around us is still, there is something to see in the water’s mirror. That little meaningful something may have been missed while looking too hard toward a sky that seemingly has no limits.
It’s the Wizard of Oz theory of looking too hard for your heart’s desire when it was right in your own back yard. Surprising what you’ll find in a still reflection, or a ripple that was in that limitless, reflective sky the entire time.
On that day, as today, the tide went out and the water was still.
The static water on the Navesink River from Rumson to Fair Haven was like a mirror, reflecting each waterfront image, each ripple, in detail. A reminder of what was always there.
Decades’ worth of Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) alumnus are mourning the loss and celebrating the life of a trailblazing former coach and teacher.
This slideshow, memorializing RFH Class of ’78 alum A.J. Bruder, was originally run on April 15, 2015. April 15 marked the 24th anniversary of A.J.’s untimely death. We are running it again, as we do annually, to pay tribute to A.J. This year is a special year for the special remembrance, as A.J., among other things, was a baseball player and there is no high school baseball this year due to the pandemic. He was a track star. There’s no track. Though, if he were still with us, you may see him doing a lone skate on an empty street.
The popular class officer, athlete, writer, artist, singer-songwriter, friend to many, son, brother, cousin, and all-around great guy died of lung cancer that had metastasized to his brain at the young age of 36 on the day of the 100th Boston Marathon — April 15, 1996.
He is memorialized by many at the annual Rumson-Fair Haven Run’s A.J. Bruder Memorial 5-mile run and is remembered daily by countless people whose lives he touched with his kind, generous, playfully contagious spirit. The A.J. Bruder Reach for the Stars Scholarship is also awarded annually to stand-out RFH seniors at graduation.
There are no sports this spring. There’s no close contact. Camaraderie remains — close from a distance. We have to wonder what A.J. would think. Thoughts?
Take a look at the A.J. of RFH days. Godspeed, A.J. Bruder. You are remembered.
It’s game-changing news. Who knows if things will ever be the same on the high school baseball field. And back in the 1970s, the idea of RFH girls breaking into sports that were traditionally boys’ turf was taboo. Then came another game changer — a girl who wanted to be one of the boys on the field. That was Nancy Whelchel of the RFH Class of ’78.
“St. Francis of Assisi once wrote, ‘He who works with his hands is a laborer. He who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. He who works with his hands and his head and his heart is an artist.‘
Bill’s legacy, besides the ideal that being covered in sawdust is the best way to be, is that no matter what, do everything you do with heart. Bill, your heart made this world a better place, and will continue to do so through all of the people you touched over the years. Rest in the sweetest of peace.”
Bill Havens Photo/family via Thompson Memorial Home
That is how the loved ones of former Fair Havenite and Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) graduate William B. “Bill” Havens want him to be remembered. The 56-year-old woodworker, husband, father and friend passed away suddenly on April 9 at Riverview Medical Center.
Born in Plainfield, the son of June Lindland Havens and the late Richard Havens, Bill was raised in Fair Haven. He later lived for many years in Little Silver, prior to moving to Shrewsbury in 2013.
“The life of this gentle giant is not ended by this obituary, but rather it is the hope that all reading this get a glimpse into some of the reasons that made Bill so special and why he will surely live on in the hearts and in the actions of so many,” his loved ones said in his obituary.
Known as a caring, compassionate “people person” with a great sense of humor, Bill was known to forge and hold dear many connections in his lifetime, offering support “anyone, anywhere, anytime.”
Local outings with Bill were known to last longer than usual, because he knew or got to know most people wherever he went.
And his love of community and people showed in the flood of condolence messages on social media when news of the loss hit.
“A true rare man both as a craftsman and a person,” RFH grad Jim Brickle said. “A very sad loss.”
“What a shame!” said Scott Gilbert. “Bill was such a nice guy and great athlete! Rest easy!”
“Bill was such a nice guy, this is so heartbreaking,” said former Fair Havenite and RFH grad Jill Sorrentino.
“Such a great guy lost way too soon,” said Chris McKissock. “Bill and I went to grade school together in Fair Haven NJ growing up. I had no idea of his woodworking abilities until so many years later when I ran into him. He always struck me as very smart and always approachable. He could hang out with anyone. He was a good friend.”
After graduating from RFH, Bill went on to study at Elizabethtown College where he played baseball and soccer. An outstanding athlete from when he was a child, Bill was an accomplished pitcher.
His love of sports endured. A proud New York Mets and New York Jets fan, he played softball for many years with the Little Silver Crocs and participated in the Seaside Polar Bear Plunge each year to help benefit Special Olympics. “Bill also was a fan of any type of new, exotic sports car and surely there was a new Porsche waiting for him as he crossed the gates into heaven,” his obituary said.
While he treasured friends and loved connecting in his community, Bill’s first love was his family.
At the age of 20, Bill got a job at Little Silver Family Pharmacy. It was there that he met his future wife, Leslie Nelson. They married on March 18, 1989 at Tower Hill Presbyterian Church in Red Bank.
The couple raised their daughters, the “apples of their Dad’s eyes,” and Bill coached them in the Little Silver Rec Softball League and “was there for every event and function one could think of. He taught them to use every tool possible and change a tire on the fly.”
While Bill’s love of family came first, woodworking was a deep love of his as well. A master woodworker, Bill was admired as a true artist and was known to tell people, “If you can dream it, I can build it.” And build he did. For many years he was the owner and operator of Havens Fine Woodwork where he created many custom and varied pieces of furniture, trim, and basically anything his customers could dream of. He also worked for many years at Custom Woodwork, Red Bank, NJ and Dykes Lumber Yard, Aberdeen, NJ.
In addition to his father, Bill was preceded in death by a brother, Gary Havens.
Surviving are: his wife, Leslie J. Nelson Havens; his daughters, Rebecca and Samantha Havens; his mother, June Havens; two sisters and brothers-in-law, Dawne and Mark Dragonetti, and Jill and Mark Lyasko; his sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, Debbie and William Lamberson, and Carole Costell; his aunts, Gail Wilson and Ruth Havens; his nieces and nephews, Greg, Julianna, Bryan, Justin, and Tara; his great nephews, Shawn and James; his faithful puppies, Cooper and Riley; several extended family; and many dear friends.
Given the current gathering restrictions in place in New Jersey, a public service is being planned at a later date under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ 08822. Click here for updated service information. Information will not be available until pandemic restrictions are lifted.
A private family visitation at Thompson Memorial Home followed by burial at Fair View Cemetery, Middletown, took place under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, Flemington.
Please visit Bill’s permanent memorial site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a memorial candle, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of his life.
Those who wish to make a memorial contribution to honor Bill’s life are asked to do so to the Seaside Polar Bear Plunge via ‘In Memory Of’ donations. For those who wish to make a contribution via mail, please make checks payable to ‘In Memory Of’ and mail to P.O. Box 5472, Charlottesville, VA 22905. Kindly note ‘Bill Havens’ in the memo.
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