Obituary
Darlene Marie Reed
Darlene Reed passed away at 77 years old on the evening of July 25, 2024 at home in Daytona Beach, Florida. She was born on October 15, 1946 at Elizabeth General Hospital in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Darlene was known by many friends and family as Dolly, or by her maiden name of Darlene Marie Meringer. She grew up in a large family of seven children with her parents, Loretta and Anthony Meringer, in Caldwell, NJ. Her father passed away right before she started dating her husband. Darlene attended Mount Saint Dominic Academy Catholic High School in Caldwell, where she excelled in academics. She went on to attend Berkley Secretarial School to earn an Associate's degree.
Darlene was a very hard worker, starting her career at Foster Wheeler Energy Corporation in Livingston, NJ, where she worked as a secretary and met her husband. She spent most of her career managing the front office at Kossmann Elementary School in Long Valley, NJ, where all of her children attended. The remaining chapter of her career was spent at Hillsborough township working in the planning, zoning and tax departments. She was loved and appreciated by all of her coworkers for her work ethics and positive attitude.
Darlene married the love of her life Kenneth A. Reed. Together, they raised three beautiful daughters - Kathleen, Suzanne, and Jennifer - in their Long Valley, NJ homes filled with barbies, dolls, clothes, and lots of big hair. Their adventurous spirit took them across the country, relocating for Ken's job to San Diego to enjoy three years in the California sunshine. They returned to the East Coast and eventually retired at the beach at the Jersey Shore. In 2020, Dolly and Ken decided to build their retirement dream home where "it's 5 o'clock somewhere" in Daytona Beach, FL.
Through the years, Ken and Dolly enjoyed so many hobbies, including bowling, tennis, golf, boating, card & game nights with friends & family, many days at the beach, and after retiring they could often be found sipping a vodka martini at sunset.
Darlene was known for her generosity and her love of family & friends, but especially her grandchildren. She would drop everything to attend their special events and spend time with each of them.
Darlene was preceded in death by her parents, Anthony and Loretta Meringer; her sister and brother, Patricia and James Meringer; her granddaughter, Tessa Shea and her mother-in-law and father-in-law, Evelyn and Horace Reed.
Darlene is survived by her loving husband of 57 years, Kenneth Reed; her children, Kathleen Betz (and husband Eric), Suzanne Jubak (and husband Rich) and Jennifer Shea; her grandchildren, Jason, Ryan & Cassandra Betz, Emma, Owen & Adam Jubak, and Brody Shea; her siblings, Elizabeth Ford (and husband Peter), Steve Meringer (and wife Joanne), Marilyn Gorski (and husband Steve) and John Meringer (and wife Marie); and many more aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews and friends.
A church service will be held at St. Pius X Catholic Church on August 14th at 10am in Forked River, New Jersey. A celebration of life will be held following the church service with details forthcoming.