Obituary of Enrique (Ricky) O. Fernandez

Enrique (Ricky) Fernandez, age 96, died on Wednesday, May 29th in Long Branch, NJ. Relatives and friends are invited to attend the Funeral Service at The Jacob A. Holle Funeral Home, 2122 Millburn Ave, Maplewood on Sat, June 1st at 5:00 PM. Interment Private. Visiting hours Saturday, 2-5 PM. For more information or to send condolences please visit jacobhollefuneralhome.com Ricky was born Nov. 21, 1916 in Vieques, Puerto Rico. He served in the Navy for 4 years during WW2@, as a Yeoman First Class on LST 318. His tour of duty included 3 invasions in Italy, Normandy Beach, Saipan, Philippines and Shanghai, China. Before serving in the Navy and after the service he returned to his profession of a ballroom dancer. He appeared in clubs in N.Y., California and Florida also did a short stint as an actor in Hollywood and TV appearances as a dancer. He owned and operated the Ricky and Veda dance studios in East Orange and South Orange. He was a member of Kiwanis, a past commander of VFW, American Legion, and past president of Maplewood committee of Servicemen and Servicewoman. He was also a member of Morrow Memorial Church, Maplewood and Crossroads Fellowship in Union. At age 52 he earned a BA degree in English and Spanish at Seton Hall University then a master degree in Bilingual Education. He taught Bilingual classes at Dover High School 1977-1996. He is survived by his son Justin Fernandez and his wife Bette White Fernandez and step children Richard Charniga, Kim Weiss, Mark Charniga, Kerry Humphreville and nieces and nephews.