John F. Callaghan, NJ Youth Soccer Hall Of Famer, Mourned

BRICK, NJ — John F. Callaghan, who was inducted into the New Jersey Youth Soccer Hall of Fame in 1992 for his contributions to helping build the sport in New Jersey, has died. He was 79.

Mr. Callaghan died Nov. 14, 2020 at Brandywine Reflections in Brick, his family said. He was born and raised in New York and had lived in Jackson for 53 years, according to his obituary on the O'Brien Funeral Home website.

Mr. Callaghan worked as a maintenance supervisor and electrician for the Port Authority until he retired, but his passion was soccer, and he volunteered countless hours to the sport.

"If he wasn’t your coach at one time, he probably was your ref," his family said.

Mr. Callaghan was a key to the growth of the Jackson Vics Soccer Club, the original soccer program in the township, and "He even got arrested for the cause once," his family said. Mr. Callaghan was president of the club during a 1981 battle with Jackson Township over field use. An Asbury Park Press report from June 1981 (available on Newspapers.com) said he was served with misdemeanor complaints for breaking a lock and being on the fields at Woodlane Park when the club was fighting with the township over the field conditions at Johnson Park, where the town wanted them to play. The town and the soccer club eventually settled the issue, and Jackson soccer has been played at Johnson Park since then.

In addition to his service to the Jackson Vics, Mr. Callaghan served on the board of the Monmouth Ocean Soccer Association for more than 20 years and the New Jersey Youth Soccer Association for many years. He was involved in the U.S. Soccer Olympic Development Program. He also coached women's soccer at Middlesex Community College, and the school team at St. Aloysius in Jackson.

Mr. Callaghan was a communicant of St. Veronica’s Roman Catholic Church in Howell. He was a Third-Degree Knight in the Knights of Columbus and member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and the Jackson Jaycees.

He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Theresa Callaghan, in 2018; his granddaughter, Jessica Fouts; his brothers, Michael, Peter and Frank Callaghan, and his sister, Theresa Silverio. Surviving are his sister, Kathleen Windisch; his loving children, Helen Hoever, Frank Callaghan and his wife, Kerry; Barbara Raccuglia and her husband, Michael, and Doreen Kitto and her husband, Ken; his cherished grandchildren, Michael, Nicole and Gina Raccuglia, Morgan and John Callaghan, Theresa Wilson and her husband, Stephen, and Charles Hoever and his wife, Kelsey; and his two great-grandchildren, Melody and Michael Wilson.

A Memorial Mass will be held on Friday, Dec. 4, at 10 a.m. at St. Dominic’s RC Church, Brick. Cremation was private. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, 225 N. Michigan Ave., Floor 17, Chicago, IL 60601.