Obituaries

Anna Ritacco Fitzpatrick, age 79, of Matawan, NJ, passed peacefully into God’s arms on Sunday, June 13, 2021 at Springhill Nursing Home, Matawan, NJ.

Anna was born at home in Nutley, NJ. Anna was the fourth of seven children born to the late Joseph and Mary Aiello Ritacco. Anna attended elementary school at Holy Family Catholic School in Nutley, NJ and graduated from Nutley High School in 1959.

Anna began her professional career in banking at People’s Bank in Belleville, NJ as a teller. She worked her way through the ranks eventually being promoted to Vice President of Commercial Lending at Broad National Bank in Newark, NJ, where she worked until 1991. In 1992, Anna switched career paths and became a real estate agent with Caldwell Banker Real Estate in Holmdel, NJ, making the Million Dollar Club in multiple years during her agency career.

Brian Ronald Riddle, 52, of Little Silver, N.J, passed away on June 7th, 2021, at Monmouth Medical Center. Born in Red Bank, N.J, he was a proud native and resident of the Jersey Shore for his entire life. He graduated from Christian Brothers Academy in 1987 and will forever be a Colt. A talented athlete, he was inducted into the CBA Hall of Fame for his contributions to the 1985 state championship golf team. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Mount Saint Mary's in Emmitsburg, Maryland, in 1991, where he made many lifelong friends and was an honorary patron of the OTT House.

Brian had a tremendously successful 30-year career on Wall Street, beginning as a utility trader at NatWest Bank. He worked for various firms in many different capacities. Most recently, he was employed by Citibank as head of North American Cash Equity Block Trading. 

Charlotte (“Shirley”) A. Cunneff died peacefully on June 3 at Care One at King James Nursing Home in Atlantic Highlands, N.J., with two of her five sons, David and Carl, by her side. She was 93.

Born in Philadelphia on Dec. 28, 1927, Shirley grew up in the Germantown section of the city, the oldest of two children of Charles and Ann Garvey. After attending Temple University and graduating from Moore College of Art & Design, both in Philadelphia, in the late 1940s, she went to work for a local department store as a sketcher of newspaper fashion ads. She married Dr. Raymond L. Cunneff in 1953, and the first of five sons, Raymond L. Cunneff III, came along the following year while Dr. Cunneff was serving in the Air Force in Washington, D.C., and Shirley was continuing her art studies at the Corcoran School of the Arts & Design.

John M. Chapski, 66, passed away at home in Red Bank on June 3, 2021, after a short battle with cancer.

Born in Long Branch and raised in Atlantic Highlands, John was a lifelong resident of Monmouth County. He was a proud graduate of Red Bank Catholic High School, Class of 1973, and continued his studies at Rutgers University, Livingston College.

For the past 13 years, John worked as a Procurement Specialist at GEA North America. Previously, he was the Owner/ President of Global Components & Controls for 22 years. Throughout his career, John had the opportunity to travel extensively throughout Europe and Asia. In addition to travel, John enjoyed golf, yardwork, barbequing, James Patterson novels, and a good drink with friends.

Beloved Husband, Father, Grandfather and Friend left us peacefully on June 4, 2021. He was 78 years old. Art, as he was fondly referred to by his friends, was born in Passaic, NJ, grew up in Elmwood Park, NJ and attended Seton Hall University on a Baseball Scholarship for Pitching.

He met Dolly, the love of his life, when he was 13 years old and they have been inseparable ever since. Together they raised their four children in Colts Neck where they resided for 45 years before deciding to move to Monmouth Beach last year.

Art began his career as an accountant and later owned a successful Employment Agency. He was a dedicated athlete, coach and sports fan. In earlier years, he was a force to be reckoned with on the gridiron, basketball court as well as the pitcher’s mound and actually earned scholarships for all three sports. He actively coached his daughters and son’s teams, and if he wasn’t coaching, he could always be found on the sidelines cheering them on. In later years, he enjoyed watching his grandchildren play and traveling with his wife and friends.

Ellen Little Stratton passed away on Wednesday, June 2, 2021. She was a beloved Mother, Sister, Wife, Friend, Grandmother, Great-Grandmother and Great-Great Grandmother. Her good looks are only outmatched by her intelligence and wit. A straight-A student turned exceptional business woman, she knew what she wanted out of life, so she went out and got it.

Ellen married the love of her life, Laird “Buck” Stratton in 1963 and raised their beautiful family here in New Jersey. After retiring from real estate, she spent her days doing the things she loved: traveling with friends, going to Monmouth Park, reading English mysteries and finding a great happy hour with her best friend of 60 years, Patty Murphy. Ellen was ferociously loyal and dedicated to her family and friends. She was a fantastic cook, knew how to throw a great party and the person you always wanted in your corner.

Born March 8, 1932, in Long Branch, N.J., the first son of Chester and Grace Wiseburn Apy. “Chet” died on May 30, 2021, surrounded by family and friends. He was a lifelong resident of Little Silver, New Jersey, until he moved to the Atrium in Red Bank in 2013, where his grandfather, his mother and his aunt had all spent their last years.

Chet attended elementary school in Little Silver, one year at Red Bank High School, then attended and graduated cum laude from The Peddie School, Hightstown, New Jersey, in 1949. He took a “gap” year studying in post-war England at the Sherborne School as an exchange student of the English-Speaking Union. Following that, he entered Princeton University, graduating cum laude in politics in 1954 and concluded his professional education in 1957 with his L.L.B from Columbia Law School. He was then called to the bar in New Jersey in 1957 and was admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1963. After a distinguished legal career in private practice, he was appointed Judge of the Workers Compensation Court, where he served for a decade between 1994 and 2004.

John Rickman passed away on May 13, 2021 at the age of 92. John spent his childhood years in Garwood, NJ. The family moved to Monmouth County in the mid 1940s.

John was drafted into the army during the Korean conflict and served here in the states as a sergeant working in communications.

He was married in 1951 to Beverly Franklin. John built their home in Riverside Heights and raised a family that included three children and resided in the same home for 68 years.

John worked for New Jersey Bell Telephone until retirement in 1988.  He then enjoyed working with his son at Tech Electric Corps, Inc. as an electrician for over 22 years. John’s high school yearbook stated “I would like to be an electrician” and he did so in the later stages of his life.

John Peter McKenna, commonly known as Jack, Dad, and Grandpa, passed peacefully at home surrounded by his loving family on April 29, 2021. He was 80 years old.

Jack was a first-generation Irish American, the son of the late Peter McKenna & Katherine (McGinty) McKenna of County Monaghan and County Donegal respectively. He was born on June 10, 1940 in New York City and was raised in Queens, N.Y. He attended Power Memorial Academy H.S. and served in the U.S. Coast Guard at the ripe old age of seventeen. A graduate of St. John’s University, Jack went on to become a career IBMer holding positions in sales and management, which enabled him to travel all corners of the globe. He lived by the motto play hard but work harder.

Together with his former wife Joan they raised three girls in Dix Hills, N.Y. and resided there for over twenty-five years. Jack wisely retired at the age of fifty-five and moved to sunny Florida. He spent his later years golfing, traveling, and dabbling in real estate. Jack was a proud member of AA for eighteen years where he formed strong friendships and devoted his time to hosting local AA meetings along with sponsoring members in need.

Augusta C. Torpey, 87, of Lakewood, NJ, formerly of Locust, NJ, passed away on April 29^th, 2021 at Jersey Shore Medical Center after a long battle with lung disease. Augusta (known to all as Gussie) was born on June 16, 1933 in Red Bank, NJ and graduated from Middletown High School in 1951. Upon graduation, she became a Radio City Rockette in New York City for several years. She was a model and participated in many beauty pageants in her younger days where she always took first place. Gussie then had a successful career in banking and was owner of Mrs. Uhlhorns Restaurant and Hotel in Keansburg, NJ along with her mother and sister. Gussie and her husband Michael owned Hidden Hollow Farms and Hidden Hollow Hounds Fox Hunting Club, leaders in the sport of fox hunting and equestrianship in the Monmouth County area. Prior to her retirement, she was an X-ray technician and office administrator for Red Bank Radiology in Red Bank, NJ.

Gussie started out as a teenager learning the value of charity and service through being a part of The Order of the Rainbow for Girls. Gussie was a member of the Order of the Eastern Star Sirius Chapter 123 in Matawan, NJ for 63 years. She was a member of The Order of the Amaranth Charity Court in Red Bank, NJ for 70 years achieving the title of Grand Royal Matron for the State of New Jersey. Gussie took great pride in the charity work she did for these organizations as well as the life long friendships she held dearly that she had made along the way.