Long-time resident Ellen Kelleher sews her way into the fabric of life in Atlantic Highlands

By:  | September 3, 2024 |  |  Atlantic Highlands

By Emma Sylvia

On Asbury Ave in Atlantic Highlands, the first thing you notice in one of the houses – long ago a bungalow, now renovated to accommodate its many visitors – is perhaps the white picket fence, the bustling garden, and then the immediate warm welcome that you are greeted with. It’s the home of 83-year-old Ellen Kelleher, resident of Atlantic Highlands for more than 60 years. Kelleher can’t imagine being anywhere else. 

The house is both a museum of sorts to Kelleher’s family and a testament to time. The walls are decorated with family photos, and, of course, beach aesthetic decor. With neighbors from decades back having moved or passed, Ellen’s renovated home is a circulation for residents and family members alike, especially that of her grandchildren Jack, Kelley, Danielle, Ryan and Dylan. 

Walking into the kitchen, you’re greeted with a refrigerator covered inch-to-inch in snapshots from family vacations and graduations (though, front and center, is a photo of Kelleher and Tom Selleck, having met him in Hawaii during the filming of Magnum, P.I.). It’s the quintessential American home, and one of the beating hearts of Atlantic Highlands itself.

Moving In

“I was born in Boston and came here when I was 10. I got married in ‘61,” Kelleher says. “We bought this house in August of ‘64. I was 23.” The house has changed over the years, adding several rooms to accommodate the turning of guests that frequent it every single day. It’s picturesque inside and out (as well as somehow seeming bigger on the inside). 

The neighbors remarked, “I was just admiring the house. I want my house to look like this.”

It’s not just the house on Asbury Avenue that has solidified Kelleher as one of the staples of Atlantic Highlands. A mother of three, Jack, Erin, and Meggan, she is one of the most popular people in town. Erin remarks with a smile, “Not a day goes by without  someone saying, ‘Oh, I saw your mother.’”

Kelleher has always worked both in New Jersey and in her local community. “My husband worked for the powerline company, Jersey Central. I was the secretary of the town’s planning board for 10 years,” she recalls. “I worked in Cranford for 30 years and retired in 2006. I’ve volunteered now for years and years at Riverview Hospital. My husband was a councilman in town. My children all went to St. Agnes, and I ran the PTA for a couple of years. My children all live within two miles of me.”

With such a rich history in town,Kelleher’s popularity is no wonder. Her daughter Meggan says, “When I grew up here, everyone knew everyone. My mother is a prime example of community. She visits all the local mom-and-pop shops. Everyone knows her. She befriends so many people; she does shopping for them. We all still live here.”

The Town Today

Kelleher fondly acknowledges that the town hasn’t changed much in the six decades that she’s been a resident. “It still feels like a small town,” she says. “The ferry has changed some things, but I don’t think it’s changed much. I think the feel has still stayed the same. I go to the hardware store, the library, all the local stores. When I go in there, I know everybody. I just love it.”

Kelleher is an encyclopedia of knowledge when it comes to some of the hot spots around town. “I love the harbor. I go into Sissy’s [at the Harbor], and I know everyone there. I love the Navesink fishery, and all the restaurants in town.” She notes that it’s not difficult for residents to find their new favorite place to dine without having to head out of town. “You don’t have to go far to get a great meal. You can do it right here.”

Today, Kelleher is known as “The Walking Lady,” constantly out and about, meeting new neighbors and imparting longtime resident wisdom, or meeting some of her friends, whose companionship she has retained for more than half a century. I have a group of friends, and we all get together all the time, and we’ve known each other for over 60 years.” She’s meeting them later today, in fact, to play Canasta. She jokes, “I’m the new girl; I’ve been doing it for 10 years.”

And it’s not just Kelleher that looks out for her neighborhood; the dynamic goes both ways. Her daughter Erin recalls, “She’s a breast cancer survivor. When she was sick, the neighbors would take the garbage out and bring food over. Everybody looks out for her, for each other.” When the lovely sentiment is acknowledged as the definition of a community, Ellen agrees.

“It really is. I have a friend that moved, and misses the community so much. It’s a great town. It’s a very safe town. Most people have been here so long.” Erin, a former flight attendant with ample travel experience, adds, “I always say, from Hawaii to Rome, there’s no place like home. I love this town.”

Mayor Lori Hohenleitner remarks, “Ellen Kelleher epitomizes what I love about Atlantic Highlands. She is a stalwart in our community and her legacy is that commitment to community, be it very local in town or her tireless efforts volunteering at the hospital and beyond. Welcoming neighbors through the years in that great house on Asbury, Ellen has helped make Atlantic Highlands what it is today.”

Despite being the matriarch of her neighborhood, Kelleher humbly dismisses her importance in the town. When remarking that she isn’t that great, Erin staunchly disagrees: “Yes, she is.”

While having traveled all over the globe, Kelleher is always happy to be home. After all, her house, friends and family are all here. The interview ends with a smile – the grandkids are coming over, of course.