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Obituaries, Opinion

Mark F. Hughes Jr.: Legacy of a Rumson Dad

“He was a great man, and a humble man … His hearty laughter at a good story or joke, his warm-hearted and frequent expressions of love and support for all of us, his kindness to people from all walks of life, and his keen intellect and insight will be missed, while memories of him live on.”

Nan Hughes Poole, Mark Hughes Jr.’s daughter

Memories. Moments. They’re what live on after we’re gone — what takes on a life of its own, indelibly etched in the minds of future generations. Legacy. There are so very many of those moments, those memories that many could call to mind as they put on their best bowtie and tip their hat to all that comprise the legacy left by longtime Rumsonite Mark F. Hughes Jr..

The husband, dad, grandfather, lawyer and rarest of gems among gentleman died on March 10, just four days shy of his 90th birthday. He and his wife, Marie H. “Mimi” Hughes, a longtime Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) English teacher, lived in Rumson for more than 55 years. They raised their four children there, in their home right across the street from the high school. They welcomed many into the Hughes home, like family, with open hearts and a voracious interest in the passions of all they met and cared to know better.

Anyone who has crossed the Hughes home threshold or been on stage with one or many has a story to tell. One of patriarch Mark, always the gentile Mr. Hughes to me, stands out in my mind. It tells his legacy tale in a mind’s snapshot. It’s a little lost-and-found snippet of a dad and grandfather steeped in a moment that had become tradition — a generational one to be carried on for lifetimes.

In my mind’s eye, a locked frame-freeze cache, it remains …

“Somehow, we’ve lost Dad,” said a content, grinning Paul Hughes, Mark’s son and my longtime friend, at closing day of an RFH show. Decades before, it was we who were at the RFH auditorium, mingling, crying over the ending, collecting accolades and bouquets. “He got caught up chatting with people and he’s still at the high school somewhere. Somehow, he got left behind. Gotta go find him.”

Continue reading Mark F. Hughes Jr.: Legacy of a Rumson Dad →
Local Life

Focus: Bloomin’ Fair Haven Spring

Spring is officially in the air and budding up all over in Fair Haven — from home to the Navesink riverfront and in between.

Take a look at some of the scenery. (And click to enlarge and scroll!) Enjoy! Ahhhhhhh …

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Obituaries

Brotherhood: Honoring Fair Haven-Raised RFH Grad Clinton Miller with a Memorial & Fundraiser

“Man is not man until he has learned to
live with his brothers.”

Clinton Miller, RFH Yearbook quote

The news of the sudden death of former Fair Havenite and Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) graduate, Clinton Miller, on March 11, was met with a tsunami of shock and sadness coupled with gratitude from countless people for having known a man many called their brother, blood or not.

Continue reading Brotherhood: Honoring Fair Haven-Raised RFH Grad Clinton Miller with a Memorial & Fundraiser →
Local Life

Ode to Rumson’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade

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Well, it’s St. Patrick’s Day. And this year is the year without a parade to usher in the day.

So, on the year without a Rumson St. Patrick’s Day Parade, we offer a glimpse back at some favorite parade moments over the past few years.

Cheers! Here’s to the next parade passing by all!

Schools Scene

Honoring an RFH Icon: George Giffin Memorial Fund Created

Dancing George Giffiin in May of 2012 at Fairwinds Deli, Fair Haven
Photo/Elaine Van Develde

“When you get that beat, you gotta
move your feet!”

George Giffin in 2012 at 83 (or so, as he said)

Move their feet to the beat of a George Giffin Memorial Fund is exactly what Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) alumni, in partnership with high school’s Education Foundation, have done. The foundation was created to honor and advance the passions of the iconic longtime RFH biology and dance teacher.

George, or “Giff,” as his students affectionately called him, garnered iconic status in his 35 years, from 1956 to 1991, at RFH. The Class of 1991, the last class for which Giff taught, dedicated its senior yearbook to him.

For a stint during his RFH tenure, Giff served as chairman of the high school’s Science Department. He also taught an elective ballroom dance class at RFH that quickly became a must and was known to keep students on their toes, dancing with class in any social setting. Post high school, Giff showed up at many an RFH reunion or wedding to get the dance party started and going all night. If you saw him around the towns in his retired years, he’d gladly tell you all about the joy that dancing in and out of those high school years gave him. And he wasn’t alone. For RFH alumni, a dancing Giff appearance always made the celebration complete at any event.

For that reason, the money raised for the new George Giffin Memorial Fund will be used to support RFH programs for which Giff held a deep commitment — those with which he aimed to empower students at RFH to achieve their goals and develop a true love of learning and living.

Remembered by countless students for his quirky, enigmatic personality, Giff was known to pepper his lessons with a lot of laughter, cheer, soft-shoe steps and jokes in and out of the classroom.

In addition to teaching, Giff was, at different times, both the girls’ and boys’ basketball coach as well as the RFH Golf Team coach. Known as always the fearless pioneer, while looking for an opportunity decades ago for girls to be more involved in school activities, Giff created and directed the RFH Girls’ Drill Team.

The girls on the team practiced twirling rifles Giff-choreographed routines at football halftimes. At one time, the team was comprised of 100 girls; and, in addition to football game performances, marched, for years, in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in NYC.

George Giffin at 83 (or so, as he said) in 2012
Photo/Elaine Van Develde

Word among RFH alumni spread recently when members of the RFH Class of 1973 spearheaded the effort to create the memorial fund in Giff’s honor.  

“We had many outstanding teachers at RFH,” said Class of ’73 grad Bill Davidson. “Mr. Giffin was not only an outstanding teacher but an energetic, spirited, and talented individual who  was admired and remembered by so many.  

“Giff taught students over four decades which saw so much change but he never lost his ability to connect with students over those years!  He was a gift!”

Classmate Cindy Sherman elaborated, saying, “George Giffin saw something in me that I did not see in myself … for that, I am forever grateful.”

Along with Davidson and Sherman, Steve Farely and Ellen Spears comprise the four-member Steering Committee for the Fund.

“The Foundation is honored to help RFH alumni recognize Mr. Giffin through the establishment of the George Giffin Memorial Fund,” RFH Foundation Board President Mary Pat Moriarty said. “During Mr. Giffin’s years of service as an educator, he encouraged and supported countless RFH students. Today, thanks to the generosity of the alumni, family and friends he inspired, he will impact a new generation of RFH students for years to come by creating opportunities for academic enrichment through the grants funded
in his memory.”

The RFH Education Foundation, a charitable organization with the mission of enriching the high school curriculum by funding projects and grants that fall outside of the school system’s mainstream budget.

George Giffin died in 2014 at the age of 85. He was a longtime Fair Haven resident. His wife, Marcia, a former Knollwood School English teacher, still lives in Fair Haven. Prior to his time at RFH, he served as a captain with the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War. A 1951 graduate of Colby College in Waterville, ME, he earned a master’s degree from Colby as well as from the University of Vermont.

Outside of the RFH halls and grounds, Giff was an active member of various local religious, social and charitable groups. He was a founder of the Fair Haven Fields Committee and the director of the Fair Haven Recreation Commission for several years.

To donate to the fund campaign starting on April 1 (no joke), visit the RFH Education Foundations’ website.

— Elaine Van Develde & RFH press release information

Obituaries

In Memoriam: Forever Fair Havenite Jack Butler, 88

Forever Fair Havenite, 64-year fire company member, U.S. Navy vet, mailman, father, and friend to the community, John J. “Jack” Butler passed away on March 11. He was 88.

Jack loved Fair Haven. At one time, in fact, his daughter Bridget Butler Kaniewski said, in a post about his death, Jack “knew every person and address in town” and loved seeing retro photos and reminiscing.

“He enjoyed all of the photos from years past and we were so happy to be able to keep him up to date on town happenings (even if he didn’t fully understand how we were obtaining this information from our phones). Whether he delivered your mail with care, swiped away your bet at the Big Six, was a classmate at Sickles School or RFH class of 1950, or was simply a familiar face from town — he knew you. If he didn’t know you he knew your parents, or grandparents, or who used to live in your house.

Fair Haven was his town.”

Bridget Butler Kaniewski
Jack Butler … Photo/family via John E. Day Funeral Home

“Throughout his life, Jack’s primary passion was his family and he cherished the many barbeques, parties, trips, and other events that brought everyone together.  

“Second, though, was thoroughbred horse racing. Jack loved talking about the horses with his friends, analyzing his picks and simply being part of the atmosphere at Monmouth Park every summer.  Fittingly, Jack won the most recent bets he placed — backing Authentic in the 2020 Kentucky Derby and Breeders Cup Classic. 

“When not at the track, Jack was a golfer, a bowler, a baseball player, and a strong supporter of both the Jets and the Mets. Last, no day was complete for Jack without first reading the NY Daily News—from back to front.”  

Loved ones of Jack Butler in his obituary

Read on Jack … Forever a Fair Havenite.

Jack Butler … Photo/courtesy of FHFD media

More about Jack Butler …

Born in Long Branch, NJ on August 2, 1932 to the late James F. and Beatrice (Touhy) Butler, Jack lived in Fair Haven for most of his life.

He worked as a letter carrier for the Red Bank Post Office for 42 years — a career he greatly enjoyed, as it enabled him to work outdoors and to get to know his customers along his route. Being a letter carrier also enabled Jack to stop in at his children’s sporting or school events and then head right back to work. Jack valued his time and accomplishments at the post office and the many friendships he made while working there over his four-decade tenure.

Jack’s commitment to helping others led him to enlist in the US Navy where he served on the USS Borie (DD-704) during the Korean War from 1952-1956. Jack also proudly served his local community as a life-long, 64-year member of the Fair Haven Fire Company. 

Jack was predeceased by his adored granddaughter, Maren Kaniewski and his sister, Eileen Butler.

He is survived by: his loving children, John F. Butler and his wife Janelle, and Bridget Kaniewski and her husband Richard; his cherished grandchildren, John, Rory, Megan, Ricky and Deirdre; and his dear brother, James F. Butler.

A visitation will be held from 9 to 10:30 a.m at the John E. Day Funeral Home, Red Bank. A mass will immediately follow at 11 a.m. at the Church of the Nativity, Fair Haven. Interment will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Middletown.   

Jack’s family will then hold a celebration of his life at Monmouth Park this summer, once Covid 19 conditions permit.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent in Jack’s memory to Maren’s Fierce Fighters, www.marensfiercefighters.org in honor of his granddaughter.

Local Life

Retro RFH Dudes’ Surf into Spring

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The RFH surfing guys of the 1970s Photo/George Day
The RFH surfing guys of the 1970s
Photo/George Day

A classic reprise for some cheer, just because we’re warming up for spring fever … 

That winter chill is still in the air. The beach is pretty barren. But thoughts of catching a wave into some forecasted spring weather tomorrow are with many in the Rumson-Fair Haven area.

Continue reading Retro RFH Dudes’ Surf into Spring →