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Obituaries, Opinion

Saying Goodbye to Fair Haven’s Lucille Suggs, 100

Lucille Brooks Suggs

It wasn’t all that long ago when Lucille Suggs was still living in the Fair Haven neighborhood that she loved.

Tucked away contentedly in her modest home, neighbors, friends, family were known to stop by for a visit. Then there were the police officers who had grown up knowing her as a loving, welcoming presence in the borough who would pop in to make sure that she was safe and cared for during a storm, bout of bad weather, or “just because.”

Mrs. Suggs not too long ago, after more than half a century there, left the Fair Haven home and community she loved in her 90s to be closer to her son and cared for in a nursing home where he lives in Cincinnati, Ohio.

She hit 100 in August of 2016 with a big smile on her face, surrounded by loved ones and missed dearly by Fair Havenites who had grown so accustomed to her warm grin, embracing, graceful manner and soulful sense of humor.

Lucille Brooks Suggs passed away on March 23. And she is coming home to Fair Haven tomorrow, Saturday, to be bid farewell at her church, Fisk Chapel AME Church, 38 Fisk St., with a viewing beginning at 9a.m. and funeral services to follow at 11. Interment will be at the Shoreland Memorial Gardens, Hazlet.

Her son, Dennis, posted the following tribute to his mother the day after her death …

“Last night at 11:30, the inimitable Lucille Brooks Suggs decided enough was enough and peacefully took her one woman show ‘to loftier climes.’

“After 100 years and 6 months of being a constant protector, inspiration, non-stop joke machine (I could never figure out where she learned all those, let alone remembered them) as well as an endless source of real POSITIVITY (You should have seen the aides guard her like she was the Queen of England as she declined this week at twin towers), I believe it’s safe to say she felt her time here was well spent, but alas, it was time to go.

“She will be well-remembered and sorely missed. I know if you asked her what to think she wouldn’t want mourning or solemnity, she’d want you to laugh(alot), love people, do kind things and live to the fullest.

“We will be bringing her home next weekend so that she can rest in final peace next to her partner of nearly 50 years, so they can get back to playing pinochle, something I’m guessing is already taking place. Enjoy the day, your friends and loved ones. Cheers!!!”

Click here for Mrs. Suggs’ obituary.

RIP, Mrs. Suggs. You, a forever Fair Haven friend and neighbor to many, will always be remembered as an embodiment of what this small town is all about. 

 

Obituaries

Memorial Slated for Debrah Hollen, 51, Monmouth Beach

“Life is too short my friend …. you are now soaring with the angels, Debbie. Kind , soft spoken and the patience of a saint, we will miss you my friend.” It’s what one friend said in a Facebook post upon hearing of the news of longtime Monmouth Beach resident Debrah (Debbie) Hollen’s death.

Continue reading Memorial Slated for Debrah Hollen, 51, Monmouth Beach →

Obituaries

Memorial Set for former Rumsonite Marty Stevens Kaufmann

Martha “Marty” Stevens Kaufmann
Photo/courtesy of Thompson Memorial Home

Former longtime Rumson resident Marty Stevens Kaufmann passed away peacefully on Saturday, March 18, at her Sunrise of Lincroft residence. She was 80.

Born and raised in the coal-mining town of Glen Lyon, PA, Marty moved to New York City after graduating from Newport High School. She worked there for a couple of years before marrying and relocating to the River Plaza section of Middletown and then to Rumson, where she continued to raise her family.

In retirement, Marty spent her winters in Stuart, FL and summers in Long Branch.

A member of the Rumson Newcomers’ Club, Marty was also an office manager at Biddle Sawyer Corp., Keyport, for more than 20 years,

In her spare time, she enjoyed gardening, long walks, traveling and boating with her beloved late husband, Don. “She was a loving wife, mother and grandmother and is already missed dearly,” her family said in her obituary from Thompson Memorial Home.

Marty was predeceased by her husband Daniel “Don” Kaufmann “Don” few months ago with whom she shared “35 happy years.”  She was also predeceased by her parents, Theodore and Martha Honabach, and her sister Marie Castelli, of Nanicoke, Pa.

Marty is survived by: her sons, Edward Stevens and his wife Robin, of Paoli, Pa., and their boys Bryce and Cassidy, James Stevens and his wife Noreen, of Atlantic Highlands, and their children Trevor and Samantha, Mark Stevens and his wife Donna, of Middletown, and their children Kelly, Amy and A.J.; and daughter Linda Stevens Olshan, of Long Branch, and her children Nicole and Robert.

The family will receive friends on Sunday, March 26, from 2 to 5 pm, at the Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St., Red Bank.

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Monday, March 27, at 10 a.m. at the Church of the Precious Blood, 72 Riverdale Ave., Monmouth Beach.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in memory of Martha to the Alzhiemers Association at www.alz.org.

— Edited obituary, courtesy of Thompson Memorial Home

Obituaries

Rumson Memorial Set for Former River Rats Purser, Warner White

Former longtime Fair Haven resident and purser of the River Rats, Elijah Warner White, died on March 14 at Riverview Medical Center. He was 91 and living in Red Bank prior to his death.

A memorial service for White is slated for March 25 at 2 p.m. at The First Presbyterian Church of Rumson, 4 East River Rd., Rumson.

Born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1925 to the former Florence Gage and Percy Warner White, he earned degrees from Oberlin College and the University of Michigan. He relocated to New Jersey to work as an electronics engineer at Bell Labs, Holmdel.

Warner was a skilled photographer and a member of the Guild of Creative Art in Shrewsbury.

He served with the US Army 94th Infantry in combat 1944-45.

He was an elder of the First Presbyterian Church of Rumson, long-time resident of Fair Haven, and past purser of the River Rats Sailing Club.

Warner was predeceased by his son Christopher in 1997.

He is survived by: his wife of 65 years, the former Janet Brown; his son Philip; daughter Margaret (Peggy) Milliken; grandchildren Kathryn LeTrent and Robin Milliken; and great-granddaughter Margaret LeTrent.

 

The Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St, Red Bank, is entrusted with the arrangements.

— Edited obituary, courtesy of Thompson Memorial Home.

Obituaries

Memorial Set for Rumson’s Addy Bennett

Many people in the Rumson area have fond memories of the talent, warm smile and demeanor of one of the borough’s most longtime residents — Adelaide Bennett.

Adelaide, known as Addy to friends and family, passed away at Riverview Medical Center, Red Bank, surrounded by her loving family, on Feb. 7. She was 95.

Continue reading Memorial Set for Rumson’s Addy Bennett →

Obituaries

Memorial Service Set for Sea Bright’s Kerry Ann Hon, 48

Kerry Ann Hon, of Sea Bright, passed away on Saturday, Jan. 14. She was 48.

Born in Stamford, CT, Kerry Ann moved to Sea Bright with her two sons and loved the area and going to the beach. She was a representative with Servepro in Middletown.

Surviving are: her sons, Eric and Nicholas Elfstrom; her parents Jack and Laurel Anderson Hon; and her brothers, Michael Hon and Bruce Benway.

A celebration of Kerry’s life will be held on Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 4 p.m. at Ron’s West End Pub, 103 West End Avenue, Long Branch.

To share a favorite memory or messages of condolence, please visit Kerry’s Book of Memories at www.woolleyboglioli.com.

— Obituary, courtesy of Wooley Boglioli Funeral Home, 

Obituaries, Opinion

A Homecoming, Farewell for Fair Haven’s Evelyn Murphy

She’s coming home. Longtime Fair Havenite Evelyn Halliday Murphy will be honored and bid farewell on Friday and Saturday in her hometown community where she lived most of her life, raised a family, volunteered and was a bright, kind comforting everyday presence — a gentle, beaming reminder around every corner of what hometown really means.

Evelyn passed away at 97 on Sept. 3 at the home of her son, David, in Florida, where she had been living. The family is reuniting with the community to say goodbye in the town she loved surrounded by people and places she loved.

Many remember her bright red hair, warm smile and kind no-nonsense words. A volunteer at Knollwood School, the Fair Haven Election Board  and Church of the Nativity, where her funeral service is set for Saturday,  Evelyn also participated in local theater and worked at Steinbach’s Department Store in Red Bank for 35 years, retiring at 83.

Evelyn eventually came to Fair Haven from Tarrytown, NY, where she was born. She had spent her summers in Rockaway Beach where her parents ran a restaurant on the boardwalk.

Shortly after World War II, Evelyn met her husband, John. In 1950, they moved to Fair Haven, where they raised their seven children. After John’s death in 1980, Evelyn continued to live on Hunting Lane until moving to Jensen Beach, Florida, where she lived with her son David and daughter-in-law, Dorothy and eventually passed away peacefully.

In addition to her husband, Evelyn was predeceased by her brother, Herbert Halliday. She is survived by: her children, Christopher, Kenneth, Timothy (Karen), Thomas, David (Dorothy), Eileen Pedersen (Jeffrey), Jeanne Wnorowski (Mark), ten grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren.

For all those in the community who would like to say goodbye and honor Evelyn Murphy’s memory, visitation will be held Friday, Oct. 28 at John E. Day Funeral Home, 85 Riverside Ave., Red Bank from 2 to 4 and 6 to 8 p.m.

A Celebration of Life Mass will be held at the Church of the Nativity, 180 Ridge Rd., Fair Haven at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 29. The interment will follow at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Middletown.

You may visit Evelyn’s memorial website at www.johnedayfuneralhome.com.

Obituaries

Services Set for RFH Alum Doug Sidun, 59

From John E. Day Funeral Home (edited) … 

Douglas Sidun Photo/John E. Day Funeral Home
Douglas Sidun
Photo/John E. Day Funeral Home

Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) alumnus and former longtime Fair Havenite Douglas Day Sidun, most recently of Little Silver, passed away peacefully on Sunday. He was 59.

Born in Red Bank to his parents, Cyril and the late Eleanor (Day) Sidun, Doug graduated from the University of Denver, CO, with a bachelor’s degree after graduating from RFH.

He continued school at the American Academy McAllister Institute of Funeral Services in New York City and began his career working as a funeral director at the John E. Day Funeral Home, which was established by his grandfather, John E. Day in 1932.

Doug was a member and past president of the Red Bank Kiwanis Club, and a member of the Knights of Columbus, Fair Haven Council, the Monmouth and Ocean County Funeral Directors Association, the Chamber of Commerce, and a communicant of St. Anthony of Padua Church in Red Bank.

He also enjoyed snow skiing and water skiing.

Doug strongly believed that each and every family he served in the community reminded him how individual we all are in what we need as we grieve for a loved one. His commitment to each family was to learn more about them and their loved one. He firmly believed the end result should always be a meaningful and memorable final tribute.

He is survived by: his three loving daughters, Victoria, Kristen, and Natalie Sidun; his father, Cy Sidun and his wife Carol; his five siblings and their spouses, David and his wife Linda, Charles and his wife Virginia, Andrew, Jeanne Sidun-Wark and Theodore and his wife Jennifer, and his ten nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held at the John E. Day Funeral Home, 85 Riverside Avenue, Red Bank, on Thursday, Oct. 27 from 5 to 8 p.m..

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Anthony of Padua RC Church in Red Bank on Friday, Oct. 28, at 10 a.m.. Burial will follow at Mt. Olivet Cemetery in Middletown.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be sent in Doug’s memory to The Kiwanis Club of Greater Red Bank, P.O. Box 8221, Red Bank, NJ 07701-8221. Please visit Doug’s memorial website available at www.johnedayfuneralhome.com.

Obituaries

Rumson’s Rose Rimali Dies at 103

Rose Rimali Photo/courtesy of John E. Day Funeral Home
Rose Rimali
Photo/courtesy of John E. Day Funeral Home

Longtime Rumson resident Rose Rimali, a member of the Rumson Senior Citizens and a communicant of Holy Cross Church, passed away on Sept. 6. She was 103.

Known to have had a “full, wonderful life,” Rose is remembered by her loved ones as a “fabulous seamstress and Italian cook who made the best meatballs in the family,” her obituary on the John E. Day Funeral Home website said.

Continue reading Rumson’s Rose Rimali Dies at 103 →