Obituary of Bud McIlvaine

Joseph Arthur McIlvaine, II, who lovingly went by Bud, moved on to his eternal reward on

Sunday, December 10, 2023. Bud was born on September 18, 1940, in New Brunswick, NJ, to

Joseph and Edith Peppler McIlvaine. He grew up in Freehold, NJ, and graduated from Freehold

Boro High School, class of 1958. He went on to earn his Bachelors degree in Business

Administration from Rider College. Upon graduation he began working in the family business,

McIlvaine’s Paint and Hardware store. He became a young father to Joseph Arthur McIlvaine,

III, and John McIlvaine. In the late 1960’s, Bud closed the family store, and opened his own

residential painting and remodeling business. For the next 50 years, he served homeowners in

the Monmouth and Ocean County communities, making their homes beautiful, and entertaining

them with his unique humor while he worked. Bud loved the Freehold area community so much

that he joined the Freehold Boro volunteer fire company. He was a long-standing member of the

company, and eventually became the President of the Exempt Firemen’s Association.

Bud’s Christian faith was very important to him. He began attending Ardena Baptist Church in

1948, through the leading of his older sister Lois, and he was Baptized there in 1953. Beginning

around 1981, he became a faithful member of the choir at Ardena Baptist Church. When he

moved his family to Altoona, PA, in 1986, Bud joined the Calvary Baptist Choir for many years.

When the family returned to Howell, NJ, in the late 1990’s, he also returned to the Ardena

Church choir. Bud loved to sing! He went on to join the Arcadian Chorale, singing with that

group for about two decades, as well as several other community choirs. Some highlights of

Bud’s choir singing endeavors included performing at Carnegie Hall, the NJPAC, and the Count

Basie Theater. He loved singing with the combined choirs every summer at the Ocean Grove

Great Auditorium.

Bud McIlvaine is survived by his devoted wife of over 50 years, Eileen Leidy McIlvaine. He is

also survived by his brother Douglas McIlvaine; son, Joseph McIlvaine, along with his grandson

Joseph Arthur McIlvaine, IV, and great grand-daughter Allissa McIlvaine. Bud and Eileen’s

children include: daughter Carly McIlvaine-York, her husband Christopher York, and grandsons

Alistair and Colin Hall, and step-grand-daughter, Madison York; Sons Brian McIlvaine, and

Mitchell McIlvaine and his partner Lauren McCabe. He is predeceased by his sister Lois

McIlvaine Slee, and son John Joseph McIlvaine. Bud was greatly loved, and he will be dearly

missed by his family and community. There will be a viewing on Friday, December 15, 2023,

from 3:00-7:00PM, at Clayton & McGirr Funeral Home in Freehold. Joseph “Bud” McIlvaine

will be laid to rest on Saturday, December 16, 2023, beginning with a Funeral Service at Ardena

Baptist Church at 10:00AM, with his internment in the historical Ardena Cemetery immediately

following the funeral. All are invited to attend a repass luncheon at the Ardena Baptist

Fellowship Hall at the conclusion of the internment. For information, directions, or to leave a

condolence messages to the family, visit www.claytonfuneralhome.com.