David Arend Mooij

1952 - 2015

David Arend Mooij

AGE: 63 •

David A. Mooij, 63, passed into the presence of his Heavenly Father on Father's Day, June 21, 2015. He was born on January 15, 1952, in Passaic, New Jersey, to Arend and Elsie Mooy and was a resident of Neptune and Ocean Grove for 45 years. A lifelong educator, he dedicated his career to providing an environment conducive to learning. A graduate of Wheaton College in Illinois with the B.S. in Health and Physical Education and later the M.A. in Educational Administration from TCNJ, he was hired by the Neptune Township Board of Education in 1975 and remained with the district for his entire career, serving as teacher and coach of swimming, track, gymnastics, cross country, wrestling and football, then department chair, director of facilities and transportation, assistant business administrator, later business administrator, and finally as Superintendent of Schools, a position he held for 10 years.

Deeply committed to family, he very much enjoyed time spent with his wife, children, and extended family. Activities typically involved athletic endeavors, such as skiing in Vermont or water skiing and wakeboarding on the Shark River, walking the boards in the Grove, and body surfing in the ocean. A lifeguard in Ocean Grove for 20 years, his forte was surf boat rowing, for which he won numerous awards over the years.

A man of deep faith in the saving grace of his Lord Jesus Christ, he attended most recently the Fifth Avenue Chapel in Belmar. He actively supported missions, both here and abroad, serving on the board of the New York City Rescue Mission and more recently in prayerful support for the establishment of the Jersey Shore Rescue Mission. An avid proponent of the spiritual benefits of Christian camping, he served on the board of Pine Bush Bible Camp and often recalled with fondness mentoring young campers and guiding canoe trips while at Wheaton College's Honey Rock Camp in Wisconsin and the Minnesota boundary waters. Areas of service to the community included trustee of the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, member of the Neptune Township Planning Board, member of the Ocean Grove Fire and First Aid and ANSWER, and trumpeter in the Ocean Grove Summer Band.

He is survived by his wife of 42 years, Claudia Clark Mooij, to whom he was first introduced and where he later proposed on the Ocean Grove boardwalk, and children Todd and Scott of Neptune and Kelly of Mill Hill, Trenton. Other family members include sister Joanna Fryling and husband John of Lansdale PA, brother-in-law Ian Bruce Clark and wife Susan of Jenkintown PA, and sister-in-law Lisa Smith and husband Ken of Clemson SC.

A memorial service will be held at St. Paul's United Methodist Church, 80 Embury Avenue, Ocean Grove, on Tuesday, June 30, 2015, at 1 pm. Charitable gifts may be made to Christian Missions in Many Lands, POB 13, Spring Lake, New Jersey 07762-0016 (online at cmml.us) or to the Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association, POB 248, Ocean Grove, New Jersey 07756 (online at oceangrove.org).

We mourn the loss of an amazing man but remain grateful and blessed to have been part of his life. The legacies of his faith and his service to family, friends, and community are gifts that have shaped us all and will be cherished.