William Joseph McHugh

WILLIAM JOSEPH MCHUGH AGE: 88 RANDOLPH, NJ.  William Joseph McHugh, 88, died Sunday, February 20, 2022 at his home in Randolph.  William was born in Worcester, MA on October 16, 1933.  He was the son of William and Elizabeth (McAneany) McHugh.  Bill grew up in Beachwood, NJ and graduated from Toms River High School..  He was a  three-sport athlete at Toms River starring in Football, Basketball and Track.  Bill went on to attend Albright College for his undergraduate degree and then Montclair State University for his Masters degree.

He married Mary Valentine Meisse on November 19,1955. Together, they made their home and raised a family in Wharton, NJ for nearly 40 years.  Bill began his working career as a Social Studies teacher at Morris Hills High School in Rockaway, NJ but moved into the Guidance Office as a Counselor where he guided hundreds of students for nearly forty years until his retirement in 1996.  Bill also was the Head Freshmen Football Coach at the school, coached the Golf Team, and drove the morning and afternoon bus.  He was respected and well-liked by students, many of whom kept in touch over the years or stopped to catch up when they met him at a grocery store or gas station.  Bill saw each student, each athlete, as someone of value, providing what help he could to their course in life.

The center of Bill’s world was Mary, to whom he was devoted, and the children they raised with an abundance of love, communicating the sense that they each had strengths and would find their place in the world. Bill and Mary retired to Vermont in 1999 and enjoyed hiking, camping, traveling, community service and political activism together. They visited national parks across the US, hiking, canoeing and camping and traveled throughout Europe, to China and Thailand on a shoestring budget, typically staying in hostels with the young generation.  Bill was predeceased by Mary.

Surviving are his ten children:

Kevin McHugh of Galloway, NJ.

Teresa McHugh-Bevis of Columbus, OH.

Sharon Riccio of Auburn, NY.

Katheline Lauffer of Shepherdstown, WV.

Stacie Swierczyna of Hamilton, NJ.

Mary Iman of Greensboro, NC.

Billy McHugh of Sparta, NJ.

Gary McHugh of Wantage, NJ.

Michael McHugh of Succasunna, NJ.

Nicole Schubert of Basking Ridge, NJ.

Additionally, Bill has 23 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren as well as a multitude of nieces, nephews and cousins.

A “Celebration of Bill’s Life” will be held on Saturday, February 26 from 2 - 6 PM at the Bermingham Funeral Home, 216 South Main Street in Wharton, NJ with a time for sharing, starting at 5PM. For more info, contact Kevin McHugh (609-432-7910).

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made in Bill’s memory to the Chris Sweeney Memorial Scholarship at Morris Hills High School.  To do so, please send a check made out to Morris Hills High School, with “Chris Sweeney Scholarship Fund, in memory of Bill McHugh” on the memo line.  Mail to 520 W. Main St., Rockaway, NJ 07866, Attention Principal’s Office.  Or if you are coming to the celebration, you can give the check to any family member and we will get it to the school.

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