Edwin M. Gangemi

Edwin Michael Gangemi, M.D., 60, of Rumson, New Jersey, passed away peacefully at Clara Maass Medical Center, Belleville, NJ, on March 1, 2021, after a brief illness, surrounded by his physician and nursing friends.

Ed was proud of his family’s roots in Newark, NJ, where he was born and raised in the city’s Mount Prospect neighborhood. He attended the Prospect Hill Country Day School, Newark, and Newark Academy, Livingston. After graduating from Rutgers University, he packed his Volkswagen van and headed off to Mexico for medical school at the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara.

Upon his return, Dr. Gangemi practiced medicine in the early years of his career with his older brother, Fred, at the same Newark office in which their physician father,Frederick,  practiced for decades before them.

Ed met his loving wife, Laura Blake Gangemi, when they were both working at Clara Maass. They married in 1996 and continued to work together, eventually with Ed establishing a new practice, Jersey Rehab, PA. Over the years, this practice became his true passion and he was so proud of the people he worked with who became his work family.

After several years living in Montclair, Ed and Laura moved to Rumson, New Jersey, where Ed had spent summers throughout his early life. Ed treasured raising their two beloved sons, Marco and Matteo, also known as “the babies”.  He loved being part of his sons’ active lives whether watching their games, feeding their friends, pontoon boat rides, or finding the perfect wave for surfing.  Ed was a huge sports fan and was proud to be an RFH varsity basketball volunteer coach for a few seasons and enjoyed coaching in the Victory Park summer’s D League program.    He enjoyed leisure time among friends and family at Surfrider Beach Club which, for Ed, was reminiscent of his younger days as a lifeguard and parking attendant at the Harbor Island Spa and the White Sands Beach Club in Long Branch. He was  a member of the Navesink Country Club and Chapel Beach Club. He also loved traveling to the Italian island of Sardegna, visiting the Costa Smeralda some twenty-five times over the years.  He was fluent in Spanish and spoke Italian.  He was a devoted member to his church, Holy Cross of Rumson.

Ed loved throwing his nieces and nephews in the truck and getting a good Slurpee from the 7 Eleven, he loved swapping recipes with his sisters, he loved working his yard on the tractor, he loved boating down the Navesink and Shrewsbury Rivers, he loved meeting friends and players after the football and basketball games at Val’s , he loved dining under the stars at Undici after the D League games, he loved working in the neighborhood he grew up in, he loved skiing with his children and their friends ,  he loved his St Bernard dogs.  When he worked at the Harbor Island Spa in Long Branch, which was a health and weight loss retreat, he would sneak the old ladies hot fudge sundaes from the kitchen.  Ed was loved by so many who knew him for sense of humor, his caring nature, his generosity and his Ed-isms!

Dr. Gangemi was preceded in death by his parents, Frederick A. Gangemi, M.D., and Agnes Rocco Gangemi. He is survived by his loving wife and children, and his three siblings, Frederick D. Gangemi, M.D., of Highlands, NJ, Cathleen Goode (John) of Red Bank, NJ, and Judith Green (Eliot) of Stamford, CT.  He is also survived by his nieces and nephews, Sarahanne (Brent), Darrin, Gianna, Tyler, Jenna, Ryan, Gabriella, Anthony, Chessa and Cash.

A private funeral service is scheduled and a celebration of Ed’s life will be held at a later date.  In lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to Ed’s favorite charity, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tenn.

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