Arthur Riedinger

I know it has been almost three weeks since my last post, in case you haven't noticed I try to post something every other Sunday, but sometimes it just doesn't work out that way.  Well, I am late again, but I have some new information.  A couple of posts ago, I told you about my mom's cousin, Arthur E Riedinger, who died in 1970 and I found him via a shaky leaf in Find A Grave.  On a side note, they might want to find a new name for that website, because every time I tell someone about Find A Grave, they look at me like I am some kind of vampire who is up all night waiting for the full moon. ( by the way, please don't look at the time that this was posted).

Headstone for Arthur and Mary Riedinger

 Well, I drove to St Joseph's Cemetery in Toms River and found his grave, as well as, the grave of his wife Mary.  I checked nearby graves for names that I might recognize, but saw none.  Then I wondered if he and his wife had children, that wondering lasted until I  saw a small shell on the base of the headstone that said Grandmother.  So now I know that they had children.  The next step for me is to call the Bergen - McConville authority Aunt Florence, but I found out that she is in Georgia, but I did talk to Regina.  Later in the week I spoke with Aunt Florence and asked about Arthur Riedinger.  She said that he died young in a accident.  He used to drive one of those big yellow trucks like a tractor  and had some kind of accident and was killed.  Well, the ghoul in me could not resist.  I recruited my sister Joan, who happens to be a best selling author, to accompany me to the Ocean County Library to look for any articles on the death of my cousin, Arthur Riedinger.

So Joan read in the library, while I checked the microfilm.  I found two articles in the Asbury Park Press from 25 Feb 1970 and the next day 26 Feb 1970.  There was also an article in the Ocean County Observer from 25 Feb 1970.  The Press article says that Arthur Ritchenger (bad spelling) of 129 Tennant Ave, Beachwood, NJ , age 48 was killed in a construction accident.  He worked for  Sambol Construction Co. and was crushed beneath a payloader, when the earth moving rig - about the size of a bulldozer - toppled at 3:40 PM.  He was taken to Pt Pleasant Hospital where he was pronounced dead.  The NJ State Police investigated.  I am not sure if Brick Township - where the accident happened -  had their own Police Department at the time.

Asbury Park Press 25 Feb 1970

The article in the next day's paper was better.  They spelled his name right this time, and it said that he died of a broken neck and that he was working to clear land for Greenbriar, a senior citizen's complex to be built.  My mom would move to Greenbriar Woodlands in 2006, which is another complex by the same owners.  The last part of the article  gives alot of genealogical information.  It says that he was born in Jersey City and lived in the Bayville area for 21 years.  He was a veteran of WWII,  and he attended St. Barnabas Roman Catholic Church in Bayville.  It goes on to list survivors:  his widow Mary Totomasi Riedinger, his mother, Mrs Edna Riedinger, three daughters: Mrs. Jo-Ann Armino, Bayville: Mary Edna and Rose Marie, both at home: two brothers, John and Edward, both of Jersey City: and a sister, Mrs Lenore Parrott, Hasbrouck Heights.  The Funeral Home is also listed as Anderson and Campbell, Toms River.  That's alot of information.

Asbury Park Press 26 Feb 1970

I did not find an obituary in the Press, and the information in the Observer was not very revealing.  A month ago, I could not have told you anything about this man, but after doing the Shaky Leaf Shuffle and locating him in Find A Grave, I know alot more.  He was a veteran of WWII, in the artillery, survived the war to return home and marry Mary Tortomasi, had three daughters, one of whom was married.  He apparently never got to see his grandchildren, and he worked for a construction company and died while trying to support his wife and children.  It appears that he was a good man who served his country and was working to raise his family and had his life cut short by a tragic accident