Obituary of Raphael Sabia
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Raphael "Ray" Sabia, 77, died on October 4, 2009 at Morristown Memorial Hospital. A resident of Rockaway, NJ, and formerly Lake Hopatcong, he was the son of the late Raphael and Mildred Sabia.
Ray is survived by his high school sweetheart and devoted wife of 56 years, Audrey Vander Vliet Sabia, and his sister Viola Sabia Hathaway. He was a devoted godfather to Peter and Keith Hettel. He was very close to his brother-in-law Guy Vander Vliet and sister-in-law Lois Hettel. He was cherished by many nieces and nephews, great-nieces and nephews.
Ray was born September 21, 1932 and grew up in East Rutherford. He owned and operated Ray's Diner, a family owned business in Passaic.
He taught Culinary Arts and was the Public Relations Officer for Sussex Technical School. He received his credentials for teaching from Montclair State University.
Football was the joy of his life. He was head and assistant coach at Sussex Technical School. After retirement, he was the color commentator for football games for radio station W.N.N.J.
Services will be held Thursday, October 8, at 10:00 am at Norman Dean Home for Services, 16 Righter Ave, Denville, NJ. Interment will follow in Laurel Grove Cemetery, Totowa. Friends and relatives will be received on Wednesday from 2-4 and 7-9 pm at the funeral home. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to ERHS Class of 1949 (a scholarship fund) c/o: Mr. Otto Zipf, 11020 Winding Brook Court, Manassas, VA 20111.
