STRATHMERE — Strathmere resident Brian McIlhenny and his family recently donated a new surfboat to the Upper Township Beach Patrol in memory of his mother, Rita McIlhenny, who passed away in 2021 at the age of 90.
“We couldn’t really celebrate her life (amid the COVID pandemic), so we are trying to figure out ways to do that, and one of those ways is to give back to the lifeguards,” McIlhenny said, noting Strathmere was “one of her favorite places on Earth.”
McIlhenny, who spends about half of each year in the island community, said his family’s been in town since the 1930s, when his grandfather built a cottage in Whale Beach.
“It has always been and continues to be a treasured respite and a place to gather with family and friends, making great memories,” McIlhenny said.
Following the Great Atlantic Storm of 1962, the cottage was damaged but salvageable and moved to a lot in Strathmere.
“The family cottage took a thrashing, sustained extensive damage and was knocked off its moorings. Yet, lucky for us all, it was salvageable,” according to McIlhenny. “My grandmother bought a piece of land for $500 and relocated the cottage to the spot where its soul still rests today at 108 S. Commonwealth Ave.”
He said he worked with Committeeman Curtis Corson and Karen Mitchell, “whose passion for this project carried us forward and saw this become a reality,” to donate the surfboat to be used in competitions and to name it in honor of his mother so her legacy can live on in Strathmere.
The boat’s bow bears the name Rita A McIlhenny.
“She loved the beach, loved sipping a cool gin and tonic while people-watching and looking out over the ocean,” according to McIlhenny.
While the stern says “Wrath of Reetz.”
“We needed something with a punch, little more edgy, drive fear and determination for its crew and vs the competition,” according to McIlhenny.
The boat, which was dedicated during a ceremony June 1, was part of the crew that won the doubles row during the Longport Women’s Lifeguard Invitational on July 9 as UTBP members Kailey Grimley and Lorna Connell took first place, a fitting tribute to the longtime Upper Township resident.
At top, lifeguards Lorna Connell and Kailey Grimley stand by the ‘Wrath of Reetz,’ a lifeboat donated to the Upper Township Beach Patrol by the family of Rita A. McIlhenny.
– STORY by CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
– PHOTO by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
