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.
Waiting for their time at bat to knock it out of the park, dugout time can prove quite pensive. Sitting it out. Coming off the field victorious or slammed. Whatever the reason for the time in the dugout, it was still time spent with the team.
These days, though, even being benched is a solitary event. So, as the RFH baseball players of today sit out the game separated, quarantined during an unprecedented time that they’ll no doubt get together and talk about at their reunions, we offer a look back to RFH baseball of the 1970s and another view from the dugout of a team deep in thought.
Looks like one of these players is bothered by something. Can anyone guess what? Who are these guys?
Thanks, once again, to the fabulous George Day for this look back in RFH time!
The tragedy of the COVID-19 pandemic hit the Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School (RFH) alumnus community with the death from complications of the virus of RFH Class of ’72 graduate and community theater actor Hal Holst on April 2.
RFHers doing the Time Warp in the early 1980s Photo/Jenifer Weber-Zeller
Time Warp, anyone? These days of confinement and fear, why not take a jump to the left and back and revisit a true party time reenactment of the era — the cult classic Rocky Horror Picture Show.
These pandemic crisis days, everyone could use a team comprised of a doc with a mask and gloves, a cheerleader, a clergy member, a hunter and Marx brother, right?
RFH special cheerleaders of the 1970s Photos/George Day
Everyone needs a little cheer these pandemic days, right? Area restaurateurs have been cooking up some special comfort food and charity to soothe souls and fill bellies amid the COVID-19 crisis. We heard recently how Chris Wood, known as Woody, owner of Woody’s Ocean Grill in Sea Bright, offered his restaurant’s menu on pay-what-you-can basis.
The RFH Class of 2020 at the annual 100 Nights Dinner Photo/RFH
Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School’s (RFH) Class of 2020 got its last gathering hurrah in before COVID-19 descended on the community with the high school’s annual tradition of the 100 Nights Dinner.
The Rumson Fair Haven High School Fed Challenge Team prepares for its final presentation Pictured:Alyssa Munley, Meghan Carolan, Pascal Johnstone, Thomas Crow, Peter O’Connor and William Francis. Photo/RFH
They met an economic challenge and conquered it as champs.
Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School’s (RFH) Fed Challenge Team has been dubbed Group Champions of the High School Fed Challenge, hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
A little tribe of RFH troops in the 1970s Photo/George Day
Sometimes it’s just time to call in the troops. For a break. For a laugh. For a reminder of some vigilant banding together laced with fun. Times are tough right now with COVID-19 and its implications, social distancing, virtual school, stress of the unknown and known and fear … growing and waning.
RFH Tower Players costumed and playing in 1977 Photo/RFH Yearbook
Just one week ago, the RFH Tower Players were opening their final show of the school year — Footloose. The RFH shows of this era are always billed as Tower Players plays, because, of course, it’s the drama club. But, in the age of the RFH Tower Player dinosaur, playing with the Tower Players was a bit different.
There have always been two productions, a fall drama and a spring musical. The fall drama was a Tower Players play. Tower Players only were auditioned and cast. The spring musical a different, more school-wide production. It was billed as an RFH show, with auditions open to anyone in RFH, casting dance and vocal choruses, lead and supporting role actors and all.
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