Obituary of Claire Ann McElroy
Claire Ann McElroy passed away early on Saturday, August 31, three-weeks short of her 90th birthday, with her son by her side. She succumbed to complications from a long and happy life. For twelve years, Claire lived with her son Timothy and daughter-in-law Martina in Randolph, NJ. She was a long-time resident of Denville, with long stays between in Whiting, NJ and Boynton Beach, FL.
Claire was born on September 20, 1934, to William and Mildred (Kueller) McBride, in Newark, NJ. Her father was a clerk at Prudential Life Insurance Company and her mother was a cook for the Newark Board of Education. Claire grew up in the Vailsburg section, raised by her mother after her father passed when she was twelve. She attended Mount Saint Vincent Academy, ultimately graduating from Morris Hills Adult Education Program. Claire started her adult life as a secretary in the Yellow Pages department at New Jersey Bell in Newark at a time when it was known simply as The Telephone Company. It was at New Jersey Bell that she met and married her late husband of 54 years, Joseph Patrick McElroy.
A devout Roman Catholic throughout her life, Claire was a parishioner at Resurrection Parish in Randolph, and a long-time parishioner at St. Mary’s in Denville. Her many friends and family were everything to her. She liked nothing more than a good party, played thousands of hands of bridge, read hundreds of romance novels and knew more Golden Age movie trivia than almost anyone in any room. As a child, Claire traveled anywhere the Public Service bus could take her. As an adult, she saw America from Florida to Fairbanks, and Acadia to Anaheim as the trusted navigator in the family RV. She loved every mile, even if she was unable to convince her husband when he was 150 miles off-course.
Claire is survived by her four sons and their spouses, Kenneth and Claudette of Wilmington, NC, William and Lisa of Princeton Junction, NJ, Patrick and Kuntal of Frisco, TX and Timothy and Martina of Randolph, NJ. She leaves a legacy of eleven grandchildren, Meaghan (Ryan Henry), Brendan (Jenna), Patrick (Kirstin), Casey, Kelly, Daniel, Mona, Sheila, Dev, Abigail and Regina, and seven great-grandchildren, Jameson, Beckett, Nora, Cohen, Evelyn, Liam, Amelia.
Arrangements will be by Norman Dean’s Home for Services in Denville, with family receiving visitors from 3pm to 7pm Friday September 6. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10am Saturday September 7 at Resurrection Parish in Randolph, followed by interment with her late husband at Denville Cemetery. The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations be sent to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in Memphis TN or to the Joseph P. and Claire A. McElroy Memorial Scholarship Fund care of County College of Morris Foundation in Randolph, NJ. You may donate online by clicking on the charity of your choice or mail your donation to St. Jude Children`s Reaserch Hospital at 501 ST Jude Pl, Memphis TN 38105 or CCM Foundation at 214 Center Grove Road, Randolph, NJ 07869.
