Earl L. Feeney

Earl Leroy Feeney, 85, died Saturday, September 21, at the Harrogate retirement community in Lakewood. Prior to moving to Harrogate in 2022, Earl was a longtime resident of Toms River, where he and his beloved wife, the late Mary Lou Feeney, raised their children, Elizabeth and Douglas.

Earl was born in Long Branch, NJ, to Ann and Henry Feeney, a homemaker and police officer, respectively. He was the youngest by far of the Feeneys’ six children: at the time of Earl’s birth in 1939, Earl’s oldest sibling was 21, and the brother closest to his age was 11. Family legend has it that the youngest Feeney was named after his “Uncle” Earl, who ran a bookmaking operation at the Long Branch train station, although this information has never been definitively confirmed. After a brief, abortive attempt to send Earl to kindergarten at the local Catholic school ran afoul of Earl’s legendary stubbornness, he attended public school in Long Branch, graduating from Long Branch High School in 1958.

After high school, Earl served in the US Army, following in the footsteps of his father, a WWI vet, and his brothers, who served in WWII. Thanks to a knowledge of mechanics gleaned from his brother, Chip (or, more plausibly, the ability to fake some level of mechanical aptitude), Earl was assigned to the Army’s rocketry program, which led to posts at two very different locations: first, White Sands, NM, and then, Churchill, Manitoba. These experiences gave rise to a lifetime of colorful stories, including such family favorites as “the time a polar bear ate the town drunk.”

Following his honorable discharge from the Army, Earl returned to Long Branch and enrolled in Monmouth College (now University), where he received both his Bachelor of Science and Master of Education degrees. He began his long career as an elementary school teacher, most notably at Frank Antonides School in West Long Branch, NJ, where he taught sixth and fifth grade from 1970 until his retirement in 2003.

In 1968, he married Mary Lou Williams, of West Orange, NJ. He and Mary Lou and their children settled in Toms River in 1973. Earl was a longtime member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, where he and Mary Lou served as “church mice” and volunteered with the counting ministry. He and Mary Lou traveled often, taking cruises to numerous countries throughout the world, including Ireland, Russia, Italy, Spain, France, and Panama. After Mary Lou’s death in 2018, Earl gamely continued to travel with his children and grandchildren, including on an adventure trip to Alaska, which gave rise to another family story: “the time Grandpa dozed off and fell out of a skiff.”

Earl was a voracious reader (especially of anything involving military history) and, despite a gruff facade, was a sucker for any animal or small child. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother, uncle, son, and friend. Earl is survived by his daughter Elizabeth and Elizabeth’s partner, Chris Brown, of Philadelphia, PA; his son Douglas and daughter-in-law Laura, of Cardiff by the Sea, CA, and Coeur d’Alene, ID; his grandsons Miles and Graham Asali, of Philadelphia; his late wife’s sister, Nancy Yaeger (Bill), and brother-in-law, Raymond Walsh (Carol); many nieces and nephews; and a very indignant ginger tomcat, Butters.

A private interment will be held at Ocean County Memorial Park, followed by a celebration of life on December 28 in Toms River (details to follow). If you would like to make a donation in Earl’s memory, please consider the Ocean County Library Foundation, your local animal shelter, or the charity of your choice.