Ethel "Peggy" (Hayden) Schel

Ethel “Peggy” Schel (née Hayden), 84, of the Holiday Heights section of Berkeley Township, passed away on Friday, April 17, 2026. Born in Newark, New Jersey, Peggy spent many years there before making Holiday Heights her home. She was a committed and hardworking professional, retiring from the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark after 20+  years of dedicated service as an Administrative Assistant.

A woman of deep faith, Peggy was a longtime parishioner of St. Benedict’s Roman Catholic Church in Newark, St. Catharine of Siena Roman Catholic Church in Seaside Park, and St. Maximilian Kolbe Roman Catholic Church in Berkeley Township.

Peggy was predeceased by her beloved husband, Arnold, to whom she was devoted.

She is lovingly remembered by her five children: Colleen McCarten and her husband James of Manahawkin, NJ; Patricia Pino and her husband Carlos of Old Bridge, NJ; Mary Ann Schel of Toms River, NJ; Kenneth Schel and his wife Rachel of Myrtle Beach, SC; and Jennifer Schel and her partner Paul Perdon of Stroudsburg, PA.

Peggy was a cherished grandmother to Daniel, Alyssa (Edgar), Riley, Kelley, Dillon, and Madison, and a proud great-grandmother to Brielle, Blake, Bailey, and Brady. She is also survived by her three sisters, Mary Ann Miller, Patricia Pirog, and Maureen Banias.

Family and friends are invited to attend a Memorial Gathering for Peggy on Sunday, April 26, 2026, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the Timothy E. Ryan Home for Funerals, 145 St. Catherine Boulevard, Toms River, NJ. A Memorial Mass will be offered on Monday, April 27, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. at St. Maximilian Kolbe Roman Catholic Church, Berkeley Township.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Peggy’s memory to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Condolences may be shared at www.ryanfuneralhome.com.

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