Edward J. Reilly

Retired FDNY

Firefighter

Edward J. Reilly, 93, died January 24 in his residence at Harborside Healthcare-Glen Hill in Danbury. Mr Reilly was born on August 28, 1913, in Flatbush, Brooklyn, and was the eldest son of Edward Reilly and Catherine (Fogarty) Reilly.

Mr Reilly is survived by his son Bob Reilly and his wife, Agnes, of Sandy Hook; his daughters Jeanne Walker and her husband, Jim, of Newtown and Theresa Olmer and her husband, Ken, of Long Island. In addition to his three children, Mr Reilly is survived by six grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. His grandchildren live in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, California, and New York. All three great-grandchildren live in Massachusetts. His wife Helen of 52 years, and a third daughter, Mary Ellen Hassett of New Jersey, predeceased him.

Mr Reilly was raised in Brooklyn and Queens and was a graduate of Bishop Loughlin High School in Brooklyn. He was a member of Loughlin’s basketball team, which won the New York City high school championship in 1929. He began work in Manhattan’s financial district but then joined the city’s fire department in June 1938, and served as a firefighter for 20 years. For most of those years he was stationed at the 104th Hook & Ladder in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. For his 90th birthday his family organized a trip back to his old firehouse and that visit was described in a feature story in the October 19, 2003, issue of The Danbury News-Times.

He married Helen Bartley in October 1942 at St Xavier Church in Brooklyn. While working as a firefighter he nearly single-handedly built a brick house and then relocated his family to their new home in Flushing, Queens, in 1950. After completing his service with the FDNY, Edward went to work for 20 years at JC Penney’s corporate headquarters in Manhattan. After retiring he and his wife moved to Whiting, N.J., where they lived until 1991, when they moved to Heritage Village in Southbury.

His life’s main priority was his family. He was an engaging conversationalist with a sharp sense of humor and had a knack of making everyone he was with feel comfortable and important. Throughout his life Mr Reilly was an enthusiastic sports fan. He delighted in visiting major league baseball stadiums and attending games to cheer for the New York Yankees.

Friends may call at Carpino Funeral Home, 750 Main Street South in Southbury, Friday, January 26, from 3 to 5 pm, and then again from 7 to 9 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 am on Saturday, January 27, at St Rose Church in Newtown. Interment will take place afterward at Newtown Village Cemetery on Elm Drive.

Donations may be made in his memory to the Alzheimer’s Research Foundation, One Intrepid Square, New York NY 10036 or via its website, www.alzinfo.org.

The Newtown Bee        January 26, 2007