Ann Eugenia Maria Keklak

1927 - 2021

Ann Eugenia Maria Keklak

Ann Eugenia Maria Keklak, nee Stratton, died on the 12th of August 2021, and met her creator and also her beloved husband, Steve, who died in 2014. Ann was born in Beach Haven, New Jersey on the 24th of July 1927, to Carol and Hannah Stratton (nee Cramer).

Ann was pre-deceased by her dear husband Stephen, who was her favorite baseball player, having met him at the baseball field in Beach Haven in 1947. Ann had been a NY Yankee fan, but after meeting Steve, she became an avid Boston Red Sox fan. They were married for 66 years and had eight sons.

Ann is survived by her sons and their families: C. Stephen and wife, Kim and daughters, Sarah and Hannah; Christopher and daughters, Katherine and Erin; William and sons, William and Chad and grandson, Robert; Peter and wife, Myrna and daughters Julia and Melissa and granddaughters, Rebecca and Emma, sons Gregory Paul and David Martin; Alexander and wife, Cecilia, and daughters Erica and Emma; Michael and wife, Beth and their children, Andrew, John and Anna. Ann is also survived by many dear relatives, nieces, and nephews and special dear friends.

Ann was pre-deceased by her beloved sisters; Elizabeth Mary Smith in May of 2015 and Sara L. Osborn in April of 2021 and her dear granddaughter, Melissa Ann Keklak in April of 2008, and by her only brother, Carol William Stratton, who was killed in Hawaii during World War II, at the age of 18.

Ann grew up swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, loving the sand dunes, and the salt air. Her first job was working in the Beach Haven library, and this started her on the love of books. During her years in High School, Ann became Captain of the Girls Basketball Team and Captain of the Cheerleaders and participated in drama and operettas and came in second on a speech on the US Constitution. She was thrilled to become a member of the New Jersey State Chorus. Ann eventually decided to become a teacher at Trenton State College, but when she met her future husband that was the end of college. After marriage, she and Steve moved to Toms River, buying land and Steve building their home while working at AT&T and hoping to raise a family.

Her favorite pastimes were reading, astronomy, working outside in her yard, and classical music, having carried a phonograph record of the Warsaw Concerto while on a New York Subway train while in high school. She and Steve certainly did have their family and worked hard in seeing that their boys obtained a higher education, and mostly all becoming Boston Red Sox fans.

Later in life, she had two especially fond memories. One was going on the QE2 to Bermuda with her sister, Elizabeth, during which they saw the 100th anniversary of the Brooklyn Bridge and its magnificent fireworks together. The other favorite memory was going on the journey West with her husband via automobile to visit as many National Parks as possible and being thankful that they did so. Eventually she enjoyed reading and doing her favorite puzzles, such as Jumbles, crossword puzzles, crypto-quotes and making afghans for her children. She was most thankful to have lived long enough to see and to love her grandchildren. What a gift!

Next came her love of Genealogy and wanting to discover where she came from and her long lost relatives. She found myriads of relatives that she never knew existed. It became her favorite topic of conversation and encouraged others to become involved as well. She was very proud of her heritage which took her to England, Wales and Ireland. Her mother, Hannah Cramer, was the first Principal of the Beach Haven Grammar School and had left her home at the age of 17 to further her education at the West Chester Normal School in Pennsylvania. Her father, Carol W. Stratton, had the first freight line on Long Beach Island until his death in 1938, when Ann was ten years old.

With Genealogy, life became a great adventure for her with the names of Mathis, Cranmer/Cramer (second cousin to baseball great Doc Cramer of Beach Haven), Sprague and Stratton, and bringing her back to Charlemagne and Queen Victoria, and many a "brick wall" to conquer. One of her ancestors was Joel Haywood, who was important in the forming of Ocean County.

Other very important events in her life were becoming a Catholic after 8 years of marriage, becoming an Officer of St. Joseph Rosary Society, participating in St. Joseph P.T.A., and in Hospitality at St. Joseph Church for several years, and as an Officer in the early beginnings of the Ocean County Genealogical Society and working at the Ocean County Historical Society in aiding others to find their "roots", which she loved. She became a member of the DAR Great John Mathis Chapter, a life member of the YMCA of Toms River and was planning to become a member of the Colonial Dames of America and she qualified for the Founders of New Jersey.

The loves of Ann's life were her husband, her eight sons and her precious grandchildren and her dear mother. In her memory and in lieu of flowers, please send a donation to her favorite charity, JOAN VALENTINE HOUSE, 605 Bay Avenue, Pt. Pleasant Beach, NJ 08742, or to NATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE, 512 10th Street NW, Washington, DC 20004.

Visitation will be held on Monday, August 16, 2021 from 3 to 7 p.m. at Anderson and Campbell Funeral Home, 703 Main St., Toms River. A Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. at St. Joseph Church, 685 Hooper Ave., Toms River. Burial will follow at St. Joseph Cemetery in Toms River. Condolences may be made by visiting www.andersonandcampbell.com.