James 'Jim' Shea, former Monitor freelance photographer

July 29, 2019 at 12:37 p.m.
A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated June 3 in St. Clement Church, Matawan, for James “Jim” Edward Shea who died May 29 in Bayshore Community Hospital, Holmdel. He was 75. Mr. Shea was born in Long Branch and lived mo st of his life in Matawan. He graduated from St. Peter University, Jersey City, and worked several jobs including in McGraw Hill, the American Management Association, as an English teacher in Freehold Borough High School and retired following his tenure at the State of New Jersey Department of Human Services. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserve for m re than 20 years and during which he held numerous positions including as a photo-journalist. He retired from the Army Reserve as a captain Mr. Shea’s dedication to parish and community outreach efforts included volunteering for The Barn for the Poorest of the Poor, a Middletown-based organization which collects and delivers food to soup kitchens operated by the Missionaries of Charity in Harlem, the Bronx, Manhattan, Newark, Plainfield and to unwed mothers in Brooklyn, as well as to local agencies in Monmouth Count y. For more than 20 years he was a member of the Matawan Council of the Knights of Columbus, and served as a photo-journalist for several Catholic newspapers including The Monitor. While working for The Monitor, he was honored with a Catholic Press Association Award for photography and he also traveled with a diocesan-appointed delegation to the Diocese of Kasana-Luweero, Uganda, as par t of the Catholic Relief Services Global Solidarity Partnership program.

In Matawan, Mr. Shea was the town’s councilman for multiple terms, was a volunteer firefighter for more than 20 years and he also re-established the American Legion of Matawan, serving as its commander-in-chief for more than 30 years.

Mr. Shea was pre-deceased by his parents, John Joseph and Theodora Blackburn, and sister, Joanne. He is survived by his wife, Elisabeth; brother, Thomas; sons, William and John; daughter-in-law, Marlene; a brother-in-law, Frank Tourine, and two grandchildren, Michael and Chloe.

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A Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated June 3 in St. Clement Church, Matawan, for James “Jim” Edward Shea who died May 29 in Bayshore Community Hospital, Holmdel. He was 75. Mr. Shea was born in Long Branch and lived mo st of his life in Matawan. He graduated from St. Peter University, Jersey City, and worked several jobs including in McGraw Hill, the American Management Association, as an English teacher in Freehold Borough High School and retired following his tenure at the State of New Jersey Department of Human Services. He also served in the U.S. Army Reserve for m re than 20 years and during which he held numerous positions including as a photo-journalist. He retired from the Army Reserve as a captain Mr. Shea’s dedication to parish and community outreach efforts included volunteering for The Barn for the Poorest of the Poor, a Middletown-based organization which collects and delivers food to soup kitchens operated by the Missionaries of Charity in Harlem, the Bronx, Manhattan, Newark, Plainfield and to unwed mothers in Brooklyn, as well as to local agencies in Monmouth Count y. For more than 20 years he was a member of the Matawan Council of the Knights of Columbus, and served as a photo-journalist for several Catholic newspapers including The Monitor. While working for The Monitor, he was honored with a Catholic Press Association Award for photography and he also traveled with a diocesan-appointed delegation to the Diocese of Kasana-Luweero, Uganda, as par t of the Catholic Relief Services Global Solidarity Partnership program.

In Matawan, Mr. Shea was the town’s councilman for multiple terms, was a volunteer firefighter for more than 20 years and he also re-established the American Legion of Matawan, serving as its commander-in-chief for more than 30 years.

Mr. Shea was pre-deceased by his parents, John Joseph and Theodora Blackburn, and sister, Joanne. He is survived by his wife, Elisabeth; brother, Thomas; sons, William and John; daughter-in-law, Marlene; a brother-in-law, Frank Tourine, and two grandchildren, Michael and Chloe.

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