RED BANK – A memorial service will be held Wednesday for Donald E. Magee, 64, of Tinton Falls, who died Sunday at Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank.
With his father, Don Magee operated Clayton & Magee Clothiers, a men’s and boys’ clothing store located in downtown Red Bank. It was a family-owned business at 19 Broad Street for over 150 years before it closed in 1999.
Magee was interviewed by The Two River Times about growing up in town, first on Chestnut Street and later on Irving Place, in an era when it was not unusual for several generations of families to live close by.
“The town was vibrant,” he told writer Eileen Moon in 1998. “It had great spirit. My father was friendly with Ed Strohmenger at Miller’s shoes, Ed Strauss at Prown’s, Danny Dorn and his family. It was that kind of town where we had the old-timers to guide us.”
Magee indulged in a passion for food history, and wrote weekly articles for The Two River Times under the title, Amuse Bouche, drawing upon his degree in the culinary arts from The French Culinary Institute in SoHo, New York, and earlier studies of American Culture at the University of Denver, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree, and from the University of Southern California, where he earned a Master’s Degree.
He appreciated the visual arts, enjoyed travel, participated in many New York walking tours, and was always fascinated by the history of everything, his obituary noted.He was kept a food blog called, Delicious Adventures.
Over the years he was involved in many nonprofit organizations in the community which were a very important part of his life. He was a former Board President of 180, Turning Lives Around, and a former Board President of the Art Alliance of Monmouth County, and involved on the Boards for the Red Bank River Center, Monmouth County Arts Council, Red Bank Retail Trade Board, and serving as a Past Commodore of the Shrewsbury Sailing and Yacht Club.
Magee was born in Plainfield to the late William and Maylouise Magee. He is survived by his wife and best pal, Mary Magee; and his sweet Ginger Girl golden retriever; his sister-in-law Claire Hoffman of Allentown, PA; his beloved Australian family, Rhonda and Roger Hoare and Pippa and Trent Merrett; and a sister, Lois, wife of Frederick Zehr and family of Colorado Springs, CO.
A Memorial Gathering will be held on Wednesday, October 7th from 2 to 4 pm with a service at 3:30 at the Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St, Red Bank, NJ.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to 180, Turning Lives Around, 1 Bethany Rd, Hazlet, NJ 07730 or the Art Alliance of Monmouth County, 33 Monmouth St, Red Bank, NJ 07701.
