Ellen Joan (Rubacky) Tobin, mother of 6, Mimi to 12, Aunt to 38, passed away peacefully at her Bay Head home on Saint Patrick’s Day.
Ellen lived a life of faith, love, and service to others. Born and raised in Passaic, she attended Manhattanville College of the Sacred Heart. Upon graduation, she worked at an advertising firm in New York City until she met the love of her life, James Richard Tobin who, it turned out, was the same boy she’d randomly been paired with in a local newspaper’s Valentine’s Day photo when she was in Kindergarten. When she and Jim married, their story ran in newspapers nationwide with the byline: “Cupid finally hits his mark.” The newlyweds first moved to Rutherford, where their 6 children were born, and then to Ridgewood in 1974, where she worked as a full-time substitute in the Ridgewood public school system.
In 1989, she and Jim “retired” to Bay Head. As Jim became a deacon, Ellen immersed herself in St. Gregory’s Pantry, where she and Jim volunteered to help feed and clothe people in the local community and where she would be a director for 32 years until her final retirement on her 90th birthday. She was a proud member of The Bay Head Yacht Club and Spring Lake Golf Club. She loved Duke Basketball, knew every player and coach by name, and was gifted a Tobin #1 jersey by Coach K.
She will be deeply missed by her kids, Kathy, Paul, Brendan, Richard, Jim Jr., and Sean, and their spouses, Jack, Sarah, Laura, Vicki, Kathy, and Michele, plus their children, Jason (his wife Julieen and daughter Athena), Bella, James, Alex, Meghan, Katie, PJ, Madison (her husband Reese), Kiera, Quinn, Delaney, and David. She was predeceased by her parents, her siblings, her spouse, a niece, and a nephew, and is survived by sister-in-law Marjorie Rubacky and sister-in-law and brother-in-law Ronnie and Lois Tobin Valle. The family would like to thank Ryland Hartigan for caring for Ellen during her final months.
Services will include a visitation at O’Brien’s Funeral Home at 505 Burnt Tavern Road, Brick Township, on Friday, March 28th, from 4 to 8 pm. A Funeral Mass will be held on Saturday, March 29th, at 10 am at Sacred Heart Church at 751 Main Ave, Bay Head. And while Ellen loved flowers, in lieu of them, she wished that donations be made to The Val Skinner Foundation (valskinnerfoundation.org), St. Gregory’s Pantry (stgregoryspantry.org), or the Emily Krzyzewski Center (emilyk.org).
