William J. Ashe

William Joseph “Bill” Ashe, long-time resident of Glen Rock, NJ, passed to his eternal rest and reward, October 19, 2018, peacefully at home surrounded by loving family. He had recently celebrated his 98th birthday. Born September 22, 1920, to Michael and Margaret (nee Diviney) Ashe in Kansas City, MO, he was a proud first-generation Irish-American along with sisters Helen (Muenks), Margaret (Quirk) and twin brother Michael Ashe. Bill fondly recalled days of his youth, riding Kansas City’s streetcars and the Santa Fe Railroad, seeing President Coolidge as a young boy at KC’s Union Station, and listening to most every ballgame of his beloved St. Louis Cardinals team from the family home radio set (while recording every stat). Bill excelled at school, attending St. Joseph Redemptorist Preparatory School in Kirkwood (St. Louis), MO, where he studied Latin, classics and religion, and subsequently graduating from the University of Missouri at Kansas City with a B.A. in Economics at age 20. As World War II unfolded, Bill enlisted and graduated from the U.S. Naval Reserve Midshipmen School at Columbia University in New York. As a Navy Lieutenant, he commanded APc-40 coastal transport vessel in the Solomon Islands and elsewhere in the Pacific Theater. Bill met and married his sweetheart Elizabeth (nee Delles) “Betty” Ashe in 1948 and was a devoted husband to her for 64 years. The couple started out in Tulsa, OK and Amarillo TX, where they started a family while Bill earned a law degree from the University of Tulsa and then a CPA while working in the petroleum and chemical industry. Bill and wife Betty moved to Glen Rock in 1957 where they raised eight children and spent many happy years. Bill was the President of Witco Corporation in New York, traveling to five continents for his work. During his retirement years, he was a President of Ridgewood’s Hobbyists Unlimited enjoying golf and bowling, a member of the Glen Rock Garden Club, and an active parishioner of St. Anthony’s R.C. Church in Hawthorne. Bill was devoted to his family and was a man of great faith who led by example. He is survived by his eight children Bill Jr. (Cheryl) of Kalispell, MT, David (Ana) of Anacortes, WA, Kathleen (Ron Bevacqua) of Sea Girt, NJ, Sharon of Chester, NJ, Maureen (Gene Haldeman) of Brooklyn Heights, NY, Janet and Charles Fina of Granite Bay, CA, Laura of Hohokus, NJ, and Barbara of Old Greenwich, CT; his grandchildren Brian Ashe (Carrie) of Bozeman, MT, Jeffrey Ashe of Kalispell, MT, Gregory, Bradley and Ryan Fina of Granite Bay, CA, Shannon Ashe of Anacortes, WA; his great granddaughter Eliza Jo Ashe of Bozeman, MT; and nieces, nephews, cousins and friends across the country and in Ireland. He will be missed by many. Visitation at Feeney Funeral Home, Ridgewood, NJ, Wednesday October 24th from 4 to 8 p.m. Mass Thursday at St. Anthony’s R.C. Church, Hawthorne, NJ, at 9:30 a.m. with interment to follow at Maryrest Cemetery, Mahwah, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Redemptorist Fathers Perpetual Help Center, 1019 N. 5th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19125, email: info@redemptorists.net