Obituary of John C. Ruggeri

John C. Ruggeri, 69, of Freehold Township passed away on Thursday, October 12, 2017 at Care One at Jackson.  John was born in Bergamo, Italy and immigrated to the United States in 1955.  At that time, he resided in Union City and moved to Fairview, Union and Howell before settling in Freehold Township in 2004.   John graduated from Emerson High School and continued his education at Kean University where he met the woman he would spend the rest of his life with.  He was a realtor for Coldwell Banker for 25 years in the commercial and residential markets.  A former Freehold Elks and Monmouth Rotary board member, John also served on the Sun National Community Bank Board and the Monmouth Ocean Regional Board of Realtors, as well as having been a recipient of the Howell Township Citizen of the Year Award. He was the Chairman of the Economic Development Committee for 10 years and was instrumental in the development of the Route 9 commercial corridor in Howell. He was also an Executive Board Director for the Howell Chamber of Commerce.

John was predeceased by his parents, Giovanni Ruggeri and Rosetta Ruggeri; brother, Alfred Ruggeri; nephew, David Polino and brother-in-law, Ottino Polino.  He is survived by his loving wife of 46 years and devoted caretaker, Dianne Ruggeri of Freehold Township; daughter, Renee Rose Veneziano and her husband, Salvatore, Jr. of Butler; grandson, Salvatore “Torre John” Veneziano; sisters, Virginia Polino of Palisades Park, Barbara Hallock and her husband, Gerald of Westwood; brother, Vincent Ruggeri and his wife, Allison of Hopkington, MA; nieces and nephews, Jennifer Hallock McDermott and her husband, Frances, Nicole Hallock, Rosann Buffa and her husband, Vincent, Braden Ruggeri, Andrew Ruggeri and his wife, Sunny, Lisa Polino, Scott Wall and his wife, Danielle, and Kevin Wall; great nieces and nephews, Sean McDermott, Ryan McDermott,  Nicholas McDermott, Valentina Polino, Gianna Polino, Alicia Buffa, Jonathan Buffa, and Katherine Wall; and sister-in-law, Janice I. Willett of Howell.

Visitation will be held at the Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home, 100 Elton-Adelphia Road (Route 524), Freehold Township on Monday, October 16, 2017 from 3:00 to 7:00 PM.  Relatives and friends are invited to gather at 9:00 AM on Tuesday, October 17, 2017 at the funeral home for the procession to his 10:00 AM Funeral Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Robert Bellarmine, 61 Georgia Road, Freehold Township.  Interment will follow in Old Tennent Cemetery, Manalapan.  For those who desire, memorial contributions in John’s name may be made to  the American Diabetes Foundation, Post Office Box 15829, Arlington, VA 22215.  For information, directions or condolence messages to the family, visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com.