July 15 1934 October 17 2019
Sergio J Ray Sr. July 15, 1934 – October 17, 2019 Share this obituary Send Flowers Sign Guestbook| Send Sympathy Card Sergio Joseph Rey, Sr., of Wall Township, NJ, passed away peacefully on October 17, 2019, surrounded by loving family members and after having received the Sacrament of Extreme Unction, at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. Born on July 15, 1934 on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, where as a child he was an altar server in a local Catholic church, he was predeceased by his parents, Manuel Rey, Sr. and Dolores Rey, and his siblings, América Rey García, Manuela Rey García, and Manuel Rey, Jr. A graduate of Stuyvesant High School, Rey would go on to earn his undergraduate degree at West Chester State Teachers College (now West Chester University), where he was a two-time All-American soccer player, and his graduate degree at Kean College of New Jersey (now Kean University). Subsequently, he played soccer professionally in the American Soccer League for the Newark-based Sport Club Portuguese and for the Brooklyn Hispano, and semi-professionally for the Philadelphia-based Kensington Blue Bells. For 33 years, Rey was a physical education teacher at Asbury Park High School, where he also coached the boys’ soccer, wrestling, and swim teams, and pioneered an orienteering program. During this period, he refereed hundreds of scholastic wrestling bouts and soccer matches throughout New Jersey, leading to his enshrinement in the Shore Conference Soccer Officials Association’s Hall of Fame in 1983; he had previously served as the Association’s president. An avid hunter and golfer, among the many other activities at which Rey excelled were photography, winemaking, auto mechanics, lumberjacking, camping, and woodworking. For many summers, he also worked as a life guard, golf pro, and tennis pro at the Vacation Valley resort in the Poconos, where he occasionally performed as a crooner (Chico Rey) in a popular duet with Tony Belfiore. In his retirement, Rey greatly enjoyed entertaining visitors at Allaire Village in Allaire State Park as a volunteer carpenter, dressed in 19th century attire and crafting items with the tools of that era, and serving as a volunteer teacher of defensive driving courses for senior citizens with the American Association of Retired People. A proud American, Rey brought his family on many camping trips throughout the country and to places as distant as Banff, Canada, and Tijuana, Mexico, while frequently revelingat home with family and friends over spirited games of backgammon and bridge. A diehard New York Yankees and New York Giants fan, Rey especially enjoyed gatherings that included his many adored grandchildren. His suffering from a series of serious illnesses in recent years now mercifully over, Rey is survived by his loving wife of 60 years, Linda Rey (née Primka), his five children, Sergio Rey, Jr., Terry Rey, David Rey, Richard Rey, and Deborah Trowbridge, eleven grandchildren, Savanah Franklin-Rey, Nathaniel Rey, Thoraya Rey, Connor Franklin-Rey, Devendra Rey, Syon Rey, Isabella Rey, Marbella Trowbridge, Joseph Rey, Rohan Rey, and Sebastian Trowbridge, and a great granddaughter, Laney Bryson. Friends, relatives, and former students are invited to attend a memorial service and celebration of Rey’s life at Reilly-Bonner Funeral Home at 801 D. Street in Belmar, NJ on Saturday, October 26, from 10:00 to 1:00. In lieu of flowers, those so inclined are encouraged to donate to the American Heart Association: www.heart.org. SERVICES Memorial Visitation Saturday, October 26, 2019 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM Reilly Bonner Funeral Home 801 D Street Belmar, New Jersey 07719 Get Directions on Google Maps Print Obituary Sign Guestbook Name: Location: Video: Image: Light A Candle Candle 1 Candle 2 Candle 3 Candle 4 Email: Please keep my message private Personal Message: Personal Message (required) Submit Guestbook entry
Our most sincere sympathies to the family and friends of Sergio J Ray Sr July 15 1934 October 17 2019.
Death notice for the town of: Belmar, state: New Jersey