Local Life

Scene Around: Iconic Dad Knows Best

Walter Cuje shows his daughter how it’s done
Photos/Loujeanne Cuje

There’s nothing quite like a sighting of a pretty famous (around these Rumson-Fair Haven parts, anyway) 86-year-old dad doing dad stuff for his daughter “the right way” — just like a dad.

Nothing keeps Walter Cuje down. The Fair Havenite and man about the Rumson-Fair Haven towns, known for his joie de vivre and agelessness, made a stop at his daughter Loujeanne’s house in Rumson yesterday, hopped on a ladder and got to work trimming the hedges “because he says i don’t do them right,” Loujeanne said, with a laugh.

There’s a comfort in getting a dad chiding at that age. Those tidbits of advice chirping in your ear that annoyed you as a teen are now soothing and bring a smile with the knowledge that he’s still there and thriving enough to bother you.

Walter is no bother, though. He’s known for being “the best dad around.”

The popular hometown dad with deep roots in the Rumson-Fair Haven area and a well-known love of classic cars, good times has been staying young at heart with a bright smile and tons of energy since he became a senior. Shhhhh, don’t tell him.

He’s been a fixture around the towns seemingly forever. You may know him, aside from the many family connections in both Rumson and Fair Haven, for showing his very cool classic cars at the annual car show at the Fair Haven Firehouse. Aside from that, he is a greeter and hearse driver for John E. Day Funeral Home. Yes, that’s right.

He was an usher at Church of the Nativity in Fair Haven forever. And, as if that’s not enough, he and his wife Patti are avid square dancers.

And, of course, he is a landscaper extraordinaire. Just don’t tell him to get out of the blazing sun and off the ladder. He has a job to do! And do it right, he did, Loujeanne said. He always does.

If you see him around the towns, say “Hi.” You may just catch his zest for life. It’s rather contagious.