Anthony "Vince" Mchale

Anthony “Vince” McHale, 85, of Ship Bottom, passed away at his home, on Saturday, February 16, 2019.   Born in Crossmolina, County Mayo, Ireland, he studied at Rake Street College and then emigrated to Jersey City, New Jersey in 1957. He lived in Fairview, NJ and Ridgefield, NJ until 2004, before retiring to Long Beach Island, where he owned a vacation home since 1982.

In 1958, he joined the United States Army and served at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, and then at army bases in Germany.  He bravely served in the artillery regiment and played on the U.S. Army soccer team. He worked for New Jersey Bell Telephone/Bell Atlantic for 31 years as a cable maintenance manager.  He was a Eucharistic minister and usher at St. Thomas of Villanova Church, Surf City, NJ. Vince was well-known in the New Jersey Irish community. He played Gaelic football on teams in Newark, NJ, Elizabeth, NJ, and in New York City.  He was an officer in St. Brendan’s Gaelic Football Club, teaching the sport to youth. For many years he served on the planning and operating committees of the New Jersey State Irish Festival. He was an active member of the Northern Ireland Children’s Project, which brought children from Northern Ireland to the United States for the summer to have a respite from the war-torn environment in which they existed.  Vince was a member and officer of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick of Hudson County and was the visionary and project manager for the Irish famine monument erected in Lincoln Park, Jersey City, NJ in 2011. He was also a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Amergael.

Vince is survived by his beloved wife of 51 years, Gretta; his five children Vincent, Sean, Tara, Colleen and Siobhain; two sons-in-law, Gene Huelster and Simon Meigh; four grandchildren, Aedan, Caroline, Nolan and Erin.  Also surviving are two brothers, Valentine, and Patrick, and two sisters, Josephine and Imelda, and many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by in-laws, Brian and Margaret McGrenaghan, Hugh McGrenaghan, Mary and Sean Doherty, Patricia Cronin, and Colm and Peggy McGrenaghan.  He was predeceased by his parents, Michael and Bridget; his brothers Michael and Thomas; his sister Teresa Mulkeen and her husband Thomas Mulkeen; his sister Kathleen; sister-in-law Catherine McGrenaghan, and nieces Deirdre and Katriona.

Visiting will be held Thursday, February 21, 2019 from 5pm to 9pm at Maxwell-Tobie Funeral Home, 573 Mill Creek Rd, Manahawkin, NJ. A funeral liturgy will take place Friday, February 22, 2019, 10:30am, at St. Francis of Assisi Church, Long Beach Blvd., Brant Beach, NJ. Entombment will follow at Garden of Memories Mausoleum, Washington Twp., NJ. In lieu of flowers a donation may be made in his memory to St. Francis Human Concerns, 4700 Long Beach Blvd., Brant Beach, NJ 08008.