Richard (Rick) Thomas Shea

Richard (Rick) Thomas Shea, resident of West Milford, passed away peacefully on Sunday, September 17, 2023 at the young age of 70 surrounded by family, after a cascading escalation of medical issues over the last month and half.

He is survived by his loving long-term partner of the last 10 years, Marylee deFerrari and his three sons – Tim Shea, Luke Shea and wife Karla, Dan Shea and wife TinaMarie. He is also survived by his former wife, mother of his children, and long-time close friend Christine Centi. He also leaves behind the joys of his later years, 5 grandsons – Dylan Shea, Connor Shea, Hudson Shea, Gavin Wilczewski and Jayce Wilczewski. Rick also enjoyed spending time with Marylee’s children, Marcy and husband David Woodworth (fellow Packers fan) and David deFerrari Jr.

Rick will be missed by his siblings, Jeanne Russo and husband Frank, Carrie LePera and husband Ralph, Patti Shea, Willie Shea, and Chris Shea and wife Stacey, as well as numerous nephews and nieces, to whom he adored being Uncle Rick.

He will be joyfully reunited in Heaven with his parents, Tom and Eileen Shea, his brother, Thomas, and several very dear friends.

Rick grew up in Leonia, New Jersey as the oldest brother of seven children and spent much of his time playing baseball in the local town parks and getting into trouble with the nuns in school. He and many of his childhood friends from Leonia maintained their friendships with monthly gatherings to this day, at Dante’s in Leonia, to catch up on each others’ lives, reminisce and “hold court,” as he would say.

He was a proud member of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 137 out of Briarcliff Manor in Westchester County, New York. For over 25 years he operated every piece of large equipment under the sun, providing Westchester Country with the smoothest and most durable roadways, parking lots, and airport runways you could find.

A member of St. Joseph’s Church in West Milford, he gave generously of himself in support of the church and was a 3rd Degree Knight of the Fr. Francis Koch Council 6343.

Rick was also a strong supporter of the St. Judes Foundation and Little Sisters. He served on the Erskine Lakes Golf Committee for many, many years…an event that provided scholarships to local teens to assist with their college tuition. He loved music of all kinds, had a passion for the outdoors, getting his hands dirty working on projects with his sons, supporting the grandkids in sporting endeavors, lover of all things Irish, and being front man for the band, Rick Shea and the Cool Ones.

Rick will be honored with a private family service, as well as a celebration of life on September 30, 2023 at Erskine Lakes Hilltop Clubhouse between the hours of 1:00pm-5:00pm. Please visit the following website for event details and to RSVP if you plan to attend, so that we may plan accordingly:

https://www.eventcreate.com/e/rickshea

In lieu of flowers, we know Rick would smile down upon donations made to St. Jude’s Foundation in his name.