John J. “Jack” Readie, age 86, passed away Sept. 9, 2025, at home, while holding his daughters’ hands. Jack was born in Brooklyn and raised in Winfield Park, but called Red Bank home for more than 60 years.
Thanks to the good fortune of alphabetical-order seating, Jack Readie found himself sitting directly behind Elizabeth Quartararo at Roselle Park High School. From that day through 58 years of marriage, Jack and Liz were inseparable true loves, until she passed in 2018.
Jack put himself through nearly two years at Rutgers University by working 40 hours a week while attending classes and being on the wrestling team. When his father needed help in his butcher shop, Jack set aside his college dream and joined the business. Under Jack’s leadership, he transformed the struggling shop into Readie’s Fine Foods, a thriving retail food market and catering business on Monmouth Street in Red Bank. Jack owned Readie’s Fine Foods for 42 years, many of them working side-by-side with Liz. He was an honest retailer, fair to customers and good to his employees. He quietly donated food to many who were hungry in the community and he developed lifelong friendships with customers and fellow business owners.
Jack loved Red Bank. He served on the executive board and various committees at RiverCenter, the organization that has been instrumental in revitalizing the downtown Red Bank business district into the vibrant destination it is today.
Jack served in the Air Force and Air National Guard. He was a communicant of St. James Church, Red Bank, where he previously served on the St. Vincent de Paul committee.
Soon after selling the store in 2001, Jack began volunteering with Holiday Express, a nonprofit organization that hosts events filled with music, food, fun and friendship for groups in need of human kindness during the holiday season. Due to his experience in the food business, Jack was asked to coordinate the food and beverages served at each of the events. His life was enriched as a Holiday Express volunteer for over 20 years, including traveling with the group to New Orleans to provide relief and spread holiday cheer in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. He said donning the red suit and filling in for Santa once at a Holiday Express event for children with disabilities was among the most emotional and impactful experiences of his life.
Jack found purpose and friendship alongside the other dedicated Holiday Express volunteers, many of whom continued to visit and call him regularly, when failing health required him to scale back his volunteer activities.
Jack loved music and enjoyed playing the piano and accordion. The house feels quiet now without the “easy listening” station perpetually playing in the background.
He made delicious soups, expertly carved every Thanksgiving turkey, and taught his family how to make homemade pickles, grind their own chopped meat and make homemade sausage.
Jack’s favorite hobby was golf. He once played a few holes with Arnold Palmer, enjoyed annual golf trips to Bermuda for years and was a longtime member of Jumping Brook Golf Club. His friendship with the guys in his golf group remained strong, even as their golf dates evolved into lunch dates the last two years.
He was a loving husband, father, father-in-law and Pop Pop, and family was the center of his world. His favorite days were when the family was gathered together. He was always a steady and supportive presence for his daughters and an involved grandparent, showing up for dance recitals, baseball games, tennis matches and cheerleading events. He loved making memories on the golf course with his sons-in-law.
He led by example, impacting others through his quiet strength, humility, faith, kindness and respect. He was grateful for a wonderful life.
Jack was predeceased by his beloved wife, Liz, and his parents, John and Josephine Readie. He is survived by his daughters and their husbands, Lisa and David Mayer of Red Bank and Jill and David D’Agostino of Media, Pennsylvania. He will be deeply missed by four grandchildren: Emily Mayer Dunham and her husband Brendan Dunham, Mark D’Agostino and his wife Lucy Wills D’Agostino, Hannah Mayer, and Julie D’Agostino. He is also survived by his sister, Judy Cook of Florida, as well as other treasured relatives and friends.
Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Sept. 18 at Thompson Memorial Home, 310 Broad St., Red Bank. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Sept. 19 at St. James Church, 94 Broad St., Red Bank, followed by interment at Mount Olivet Cemetery, Middletown.
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in memory of Jack Readie to Holiday Express at holidayexpress.org.
The article originally appeared in the September 18 – 24, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
