Obituaries

Mark J. Azzolina, 59, a lifelong resident of Middletown, passed away peacefully on August 1, 2018, at Raritan Bay Medical Center, Perth Amboy, after suffering from a long illness. Mark was born in 1959 to Joseph and Roselyn Azzolina in Middletown, NJ and was one of seven children. He was a graduate of Middletown South High School and attended Brookdale Community College and Arizona State University.

Mark was a co-owner of Food Circus Super Markets, Inc. (Foodtown) where he served on the Board of Directors as well as a partner is several other family businesses.  Mark started working for his family’s supermarket business at the age of fourteen as a clerk working his way up to the Meat and Grocery Supervisor. He moved to Florida for several years where he worked as a realtor. In 2010 Mark returned to Middletown where he transitioned to his family’s liquor business to his most recent position as a Liquor Supervisor and Regulatory Compliance Director. He oversaw five liquor operations and was responsible for the development of the Circus Wines, Beer and Spirits brand.

Joseph G. Gallagher, 54, passed away on July 29^th, from injuries sustained in a car accident.  Born in Boston, MA, he grew up in Binghamton NY.  A 1982 graduate of Seton Catholic Central HS, Joe was proud to be named class president all four years.  He went on to graduate from Marquette University in 1986 with a degree in Criminal Justice.

Joe and his family were lucky to be able to call Nantucket, MA their second home.  Spending every summer there, he became a member of the Nantucket Police, first as a summer “special” and then full time in 1987.

After moving to Washington DC, where he met his future wife, Patty Mitchell, Joe started his long career in Advertising.  First in radio Ad sales and then later, after a move to New York, his reign as digital Ad Guru. He worked at a number of companies including The Tribune Company, Wall Street Journal, and most recently Digital Remedy.  What set Joe apart, was his ability to connect with and entertain everyone he encountered.

Red Bank – On July 30, 2018, Helen Wehman, 92, left this earth peacefully to join our Lord in Heaven with her family by her side.   Helen was born and raised in Jersey City, moved briefly to Bayonne and spent her last four years with her daughter Patty and her family in Red Bank.  

Helen was predeceased by her beloved husband John; her brothers Edward, Chester and James.  Surviving are her four daughters Marguerite Brennan and her husband Thomas, Elizabeth Frieri and her husband Frank, Kathleen Mulrenan and her husband Robert and Patricia Munro and her husband John; and her nine grandchildren JordanLynn, Luke, Stephen, Jack, Claire, Matthew, Samantha, Michael and Elsbeth. Also surviving is her sister Florence LaMendola.

It is with great sadness that the family of Josephine Scalzo announces that she passed away peacefully on July 28, 2018.

Josephine was born on in West New York, NJ. She had one brother and 3 sisters and was a life-long resident of Monmouth County. While working at Eisner's Uniform Factory in Red Bank, Josephine Leone met her future husband, Joseph P. Scalzo. Josie and Joe were married on June 1, 1953 and were married until his passing in April of 1993. Together they raised two children, Linda A. and Joseph L. Scalzo. Josie demonstrated unconditional love for her extended family and thanked God daily for her blessings. She will be remembered by her family and friends for her kind heart, extreme pride and devotion to family, and a sharp sense of humor.

Alexandrianna Lowe, age 28, went home to her heavenly Father on July 22, 2018, at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, New Jersey.  She was born on Friday, October 13, 1989 (which she hated), in Portsmouth, Virginia.  Lexi was fierce, wicked smart, and loyal to a fault.  Not one to back down from a challenge, she was a force to be reckoned with.  Lexi was a 1999 World Champion Pop Warner cheerleader but was more proud of the fact that she caught a catfish with her bare hands.  She loved crabbing, royal history, and Netflix.  She loved country music, the Broadway play Chicago, and the movies Dirty Dancing and Titanic.  When she was younger, you might have found her trying to pull snakes from rock walls, or making mud pies for dinner.  Lexi was a beautiful girl with sparkling green eyes, and had the perfect amount of freckles sprinkled across her nose.  Her heart was as large as her smile.  If she loved you, she loved you.  She was the best co-pilot and personal assistant a mom could ever want.  She had a knack for thinking outside the box.  Recently, she single handedly saved a family vacation after several last minute flight cancellations, rerouting everyone on the fly, all the while juggling a toddler.  Lexi loved rice pudding, chili, and pigeons.  (The stuffed cabbage kind, especially with creamed corn and mashed potatoes, Baba style.)  Her only fear was riding the Flyers at Knoebels.  

Marco J. Bonomi, age 84, of Fair Haven, passed away Wednesday, July 25^th unexpectedly from complications from heart bypass surgery.  Marco was born in Cares, Italy.  He was the only child of Guiseppe (Joseph) and Raggiunta, who raised their son in Corona, New York.  After graduating high school in 1952, Marco went to work at Con Ed until 1955 when he joined the Navy.  He was honorably discharged in 1957 and took advantage of the GI Bill and enrolled at the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, where he graduated summa cum laude with a BS in electrical engineering.  The following year he received his Masters degree from New York University.

Doris Jean Giblin, 90, passed away peacefully in her home the morning of July 23, 2018 after a prolonged illness. Born in Red Bank to the late Lester E. Shibla and Olive P. Fary, she lived locally for majority of her life, returning to the area in 2000 to spend more time with her family after residing in the Sarasota-Bradenton, FL area for nearly 20 years.

Doris was a talented artist who graduated from the Red Bank High School a year early, and then turned down an appointment to the Pratt Institute. Instead, she entered the workforce, and was a nearly 40-year employee of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. She was a longtime communicant of the Reformed Church of Tinton Falls; and, a lifetime member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Little Silver Volunteer Fire Department who continued to march in the borough’s Memorial Day parade well into her eighties. Doris and several friends also maintained a six-decade-long monthly lunch club tradition affectionately known as the Squirt Club.

William Mason Caldwell, 58, passed away peacefully on July 20, 2018 into a world of endless sun and surf surrounded by his loved ones.  He fought a long, hard battle with pancreatic cancer and faced his illness with the same dignity, grace and determination as he lived his life.

Bill impatiently burst into this world in 1960 not wanting to waste a single second to get started on a lifetime of adventure.  He was raised in Fair Haven, New Jersey and graduated from Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School.  He received a bachelor’s degree in Marketing from Monmouth University.  He began his sales career at the age of three when he picked the neighbors prized roses and sold them back to the owners for a “paper dollar”.  He had a successful career in Sales with the Asbury Park Press for 30 years.  His retirement in 2015 allowed him time to pursue his many hobbies and interests.  A talented wood worker, his pride and joy is “Willa”, a Chesapeake Light Craft that he built with lots of sweat, determination and perseverance.  Bill lived his life to the fullest and was an accomplished surfer, snowboarder and skate boarder. He enjoyed kayaking, sailing, fishing and paddle boarding.  His love of the ocean took him around the world surfing, fishing and enjoying the sun with his friends and family.

Rita Ida Gallagher (nee Brieden) passed away on Sunday, July 15, 2018, at her home in Ocean Twp, NJ, with her daughter Laurajane Wikoff by her side and one of her favorite Frank Sinatra songs playing in the background.  She was 94 years old and was born in Jersey City, NJ.

Everyone who knew Rita thought of her as an immeasurably loving, optimistic, strong and smart woman.  She had an infectious sense of humor that won everyone over.  She was self-sacrificing and always willing to help anyone in need.  She always had kind words to say about everyone she met.  She was an adoring wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend.  She had a passion for sewing and painting and often blessed her family and friends with handmade gifts that they treasured.  She loved traveling with her husband Harold “Gal” and would often boast about the 32 cross-country trips they made by car.  The only state she never saw was Oregon.

Doris Pomphrey Robinson, late of Red Bank, formerly of Rumson and Tinton Falls; age 100. Doris was the daughter of the late Edwin and Olive Pomphrey. She was a 1935 graduate of Rumson High School.

She worked for five years in Washington DC for the Tennessee Valley Authority, providing needed secretarial work during World War Two. She returned to Rumson to help care for her family. She was then a civilian worker for the U.S. Army at Fort Monmouth for 45 years, retiring in 1982. She was a lifelong member of the Rumson Presbyterian Church, serving as a Deacon and Sunday School teacher as well as a member of their Senior Citizens' Group. After retiring, she gave over 7800 hours of volunteer work, both to Riverview Hospital (from 1974 to 2010) and at the Twin Lights Historic Site in The Highlands for fifteen years.