February 9, 2011
Avon, NJ

Eugene A. McDonald Sr. of Avon, N.J., passed away on Feb. 9, 2011, at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune, N.J. He was 79 years old. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, Feb. 14, at Saint Elizabeth's R.C. Church in Avon, N.J., at 11 a.m. Friends may gather at the funeral home at 10 a.m. Visitation will be on Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Reilly Funeral Home, 801 D St., Belmar N.J. Committal will be private.

Gene was born in Merchantville, N.J., and grew up in Nutley, N.J. He summered in Avon-by-the-Sea, N.J., for many years before moving there year-round in 1992.

He was a parishioner of Saint Elizabeth's R.C. Church in Avon. Gene was the chief executive officer of the Center for Educational Advancement in Flemington, N.J., retiring in 2004. Prior to that, he worked for the United Way and Holy Family College in Philadelphia.

Gene was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Newark in 1958.  He earned a B.S. in economics from Seton Hall University, an M.A. in social work from Rutgers University and an executive master's in business administration from Harvard University. He was an avid sailor and loved to read.

He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Joan Patricia McDonald, and his brother, John D. McDonald. He is survived by three loving children, his son, Eugene A. McDonald Jr.; his daughters, Mary Pat McDonald and Erica McLaughlin; son-in-law, Andrew, and his brother, Patrick J McDonald and his wife, Arlene.

Published in Star-Ledger on February 12, 2011