William P. Hennelly, 96, of East Brunswick passed away peacefully on June 28 in New
Brunswick.
Born in Jersey City, he lived there and in Union City before moving to East
Brunswick in 1967.
William worked as an international traffic manager for many years with the Oasis Oil
Company in New York before retiring. He attended Seton Hall University and was a
graduate of the Academy of Advanced Traffic in New York.
He was an Army combat veteran of the Korean War, with the Second Infantry
Division, 82nd Airborne Anti-Aircraft AW Battalion. William was a member of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars in East Brunswick.
William met his beloved wife Irene Palermo in Hoboken, and they went on to raise
six children. He was always there for his family, a great protector, and helped
devotedly care for his mother-in-law in her later years.
Nicknamed “Rubber Legs” as a boy for his nimbleness getting around the
neighborhood of Greenville in Jersey City, William would later challenge his sons to
40-yard dashes in the street — and win.
He also was known to throw batting practice to his sons’ Little League teams, which
wanted no part of his fastball. One weekend in the ’70s, he stepped in as the umpire
of one of his nephew’s Little League games and was asked if he could return the next
week.
He attended Snyder High School in Jersey City, where in his senior year he was the
quarterback of the football team, which in 1947 played in front of post-World War II
crowds of more than 10,000 at the city’s Roosevelt Stadium. Known for his live arm,
he also was a pitcher for the baseball team.
In his younger years, he sported a mane of curly, jet-black hair, which made some
people believe that the 100 percent Irish son of County Mayo was Italian. He ended
up marrying an Italian woman, and their marriage lasted 65 years.
He favored the legendary singers Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett and Jimmy Roselli and
could respectably carry a tune, such as “I Left My Heart in San Francisco,” which he
sang in one of those old school Jersey City accents.
William is survived by his children: Irene Hennelly, William Hennelly (Amy
Antenucci), Kevin Hennelly, Maureen Brodie (John Brodie), and Glenn Hennelly; he
was predeceased by his wife, Irene, son Kyle, parents William and Catherine (nee
Hynes); and five sisters, Rose, Kathleen, Eleanor, Claire and Elaine. William is also
survived by five grandchildren: Alana, Stephanie, Jason, Danica, and Gianna.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, Route
18, Old Bridge, on Tuesday, July 8 at 10 a.m. Interment will follow at Holy Cross
Burial Park, Jamesburg.