The Hon. Chester Apy was born March 8, 1932, in Long Branch, the first son of Chester and Grace Wiseburn Apy. “Chet” died May 30, 2021, surrounded by family and friends. He was a lifelong resident of Little Silver until he moved to the Atrium in Red Bank in 2013.
Chet went to Little Silver grammar schools and spent one year at Red Bank High School before attending and graduating cum laude from The Peddie School, Hightstown, in 1949. He took a gap year, studying in post-war England at the Sherborne School as an exchange student of the English Speaking Union. Following that, he entered Princeton University, graduating cum laude in politics in 1954 and concluded his education in 1957 with his L.L.B from Columbia Law School. He was then called to the bar in New Jersey in 1957 and was admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States in 1963. After a distinguished legal career in private practice, he was appointed judge of the Workers Compensation Court, where he served between 1994 and 2004.
During the Korean conflict, while at Princeton, Chet enlisted in the Naval Reserves, serving honorably until January 1959.
Between his final exams at Princeton University and the commencement exercises a week later, he married Florence Pye, whom he had met in an eighth-grade dancing class. Florence and Chet would have celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary June 5, 2021.
Chester and Florence were, together, committed to civil rights and racial equity. Chester was an unwavering advocate against the death penalty, serving as co-chair of the State Council to Abolish Capital Punishment.
He served in elected positions as a Republican candidate on the Little Silver Borough Council and two terms in the New Jersey State Assembly. He was an advisor to Gateway National Recreation Commission and was appointed by Gov. Tom Kean to the Tidelands Resource Council. His service extended to a host of diverse nonprofits. He was named a “life member” of the NAACP in 1991, and in 1996 was named a “Distinguished Eagle Scout” by the Monmouth Council of the Boy Scouts of America. He was trustee at the Community YMCA, the Chancellor of Southern District of the United Methodist Church. He served as president of the Camp Bethel Association, on the National Register of Historic Places in Haddam, Connecticut.
Chet is survived by his wife, Florence Pye Apy; their three sons David C. and Patricia McHale Apy of Little Silver, Donald W. and Jennifer Don Apy of Fremont, California, and Dean W. and Susan Yount Apy of La Crescenta, California; and 10 grandchildren, Emily and husband Danny Bera, Alexandria, Virginia, David Jr., and Daniel, Andrew, Marissa and Christopher, and Alexandra, Mallory, Jackson and Trevor. He is also survived by his brother Edward and wife Sharon Apy and beloved nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites those wishing to honor Chester, to join them in contributing to the T. Thomas Fortune Foundation; the United Methodist Church of Red Bank, the Presbyterian Church at Shrewsbury and the Community YMCA Red Bank or to the organizations and houses of worship of their choice which seek to serve the marginalized and underrepresented among us.
All services are private. A memorial service will be held in August. Thompson Memorial Home in Red Bank has been entrusted with the arrangements.
The article originally appeared in the June 3 – 9, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
