Philip
J. Reilly
Saturday, April 7, 2007
EGREMONT -- Philip
J. Reilly, 73, of Baldwin Hill, died Thursday at St.
Joseph's Hospital in Wayne, N.J., where he had resided
for two weeks. He served as Egremont water commissioner
from 1995 to 2001 and was twice elected selectman,
serving as chairman until resigning for health reasons
in January. He also was on the Advisory Board of Elder
Services of Berkshire County for many years.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on
Oct. 5, 1933, son of Farrell and Mary Molloy Reilly, he
graduated from Manhattan College High School, also known
as Manhattan Prep, in New York, where he was a member of
the varsity basketball, cross country and swim teams. He
attended St. John's University in New York City and
graduated from the Port Authority Police Academy. He was
an Eagle Scout and played basketball for the Navy, the
Marine Corps, and the Port Authority of New York and New
Jersey.
A Navy veteran of the
Korean War, he served from 1951 to 1953 and was assigned
to aviation. He was discharged with the rank of petty
officer third class.
Mr. Reilly was employed by
the Port Authority as a police officer for 33 years at
Kennedy and Newark international airports and was
operations manager at Newark Airport, retiring in 1989.
He then worked at Barnstable Airport in Hyannis as a
manager, retiring in 1995. During his career, he met
every president from Lyndon B. Johnson through Ronald
Reagan and many other dignitaries.
In 1962, Mr. Reilly was
awarded the Port Authority Commendation Medal for
Meritorious Service after running into a burning
building in Elizabeth, N.J., and evacuating the
occupants. He enjoyed everything about airplanes and had
his pilot's license for many years.
He also
lived in Howell Township and in Point Pleasant Beach,
both in New Jersey, and was a Little League coach and
assistant scoutmaster to his sons' Boy Scout troop in
the latter town. He moved to Barnstable in 1989 and to
Egremont in 1995. He and his wife, the former Joan
M. Tenny, were married Aug. 20, 1955, at St. Jerome's
Church in Brooklyn. She died July 16, 2002.
He leaves three sons, David J. Reilly of Ringwood, N.J.,
Robert F. Reilly of Long Beach, Md., and John P. Reilly
of Midlothian, Va.; and seven grandchildren.
FUNERAL
NOTICE -- A Liturgy of Christian Burial for Philip J.
Reilly, who died Thursday, April 5, 2007, will be
celebrated Tuesday at 10 a.m. at St. Peter's Church in
Great Barrington by the Rev. William Murphy, pastor.
Burial will follow in Hillside Cemetery in Egremont.
The family will receive
friends on Monday from 2 to 4 p.m and 7 to 9 p.m. at
FINNERTY & STEVENS FUNERAL HOME in Great Barrington. In
lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to
the Arthritis Foundation through the funeral home, 426
Main St., Great Barrington, MA 01230. Mr. Reilly also
leaves three daughters-in-law, Maryclaire (David),
Sheila (Robert) and Jill (John), and seven
grandchildren, Meghan, Brian, Michael, Connor, Logan,
Shannon and Kaitlyn. Remembrances, memories and
reflections may be sent to the family through
finnertyandstevensfuneralhome.com.
Published in The Berkshire Eagle on 4/7/2007.
Copyright
© 2007 BerkshireEagle.com