William E. "Bill" McDonough

Bill McDonough, of Cranford, N.J., passed away peacefully at home on Jan. 8, 2013, surrounded by his family.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated on Monday, Jan. 14, 2013, at 10 a.m. at St. Helen's R.C. Church in Westfield, N.J., following the funeral from Higgins and Bonner Echo Lake Funeral Home, 582 Springfield Ave., Westfield. Friends and relatives may call on Sunday from 2 to 6 p.m.

Bill was a loving father, grandfather, and devoted husband to Ginny - whom he now joins in heaven. Bill was born in Elizabeth, N.J. where he lived before moving to Cranford over 50 years ago. After graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School, he served in the U.S. Army, attending Seton Hall University on the G.I. Bill where he received his degree in 1950.

Bill was employed as manager of claims in the law department for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, where he worked for 30 years. Bill was quite the athlete in high school, playing basketball and baseball and was a member of the 1945 Union County Basketball championship team. He was a parishioner of St. Helen's Church, Westfield, and St. John the Apostle Church, Clark, N.J. for many years. He enjoyed being part of the Cranford Seniors Thursday group and meeting with his friends at the Rustic Mill. He was a volunteer at the Helping Hands and Hearts Soup Kitchen of St. Helen's Church.

Bill and his wife, Ginny, were both honored in 1959 by Archbishop Thomas Boland for outstanding service as members of the Joint Pre-Cana and Cana Board of the Newark Archdiocese. He and his wife worked for five years as chairpersons of the Pre-Cana Couples Panel. For 19 years, he and Ginny wintered in Marco Island, Fla. with many friends. Summers were spent visiting Cape Cod, Mass., and down the Shore on the porch in Manasquan, N.J., with family. Pops, like all McDonough men, was a good and gentle man - a man with great Irish wit, who loved his golf, his faith, and his family above all else. He was lovingly cared for at home by his son, Christopher, for over a year. He truly was "the richest man in town."

Bill was predeceased by his beloved wife of 55 years, Ginny. He is survived by five children, son, Paul McDonough of Manhattan, N.Y.; daughters, Jane McDonough Daly and husband, Jim, of Cranford; Kat McDonough and husband, Scott Grossman, of Los Angeles, Calif., and twins, son, Christopher McDonough of Cranford, and daughter, Laurie McDonough and her partner, Heather Hendershot, of Manasquan, N.J.; and daughter-in-law, Coleen McDonough, of Cranford; his life's joy, his grandchildren, Billy Daly and Shannon Daly, of Cranford, and Declan Grossman, of Los Angeles. Bill is survived by a sister, Marie Sauerwein of Sanibel Island, Fla., and many nieces and nephews. Bill was predeceased by his brothers, Joseph, John, Thomas, and Patrick McDonough, and sisters, Margaret Drew, Dorothy Creed, and Ella Mulshine.

In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate donations in Bill's name to the Center for Hope Hospice, 1900 Raritan Road, Scotch Plains, NJ 07076 or at www.CenterforHope.com

Published in Star-Ledger on January 10, 2013