Ray Sternesky Aug. 7, 1935 – Mar. 2, 2021 Ray Sternesky passed away peacefully at age 85 at Jersey Shore Hospital with his loving wife Dolly by his side on Tuesday, March 2. The youngest of 10 children, Ray was born in Houtzdale, PA on August 7th, 1935. Early in his childhood he moved to Brooklyn, NY with his family and with a piece of chalk in hand, his creativity was already beginning to flow from him and onto the streets of his neighborhood. Those early moments of artistic expression turned out to be just the beginning of a lifelong affinity Ray had for the arts. He attended one of the first colleges in NYC dedicated to the arts and from there he began a long successful career in the commercial and fine art fields. As much as Ray loved art, in 1961 it quickly took a backseat to Dorothy Kenney. The two quickly fell  in love and after a short courtship they were married in a Polish dance hall in 1963. Their family expanded with the addition of 3 children, Kenneth, Nancy and Michael, and in 1970 they moved to Englewood, NJ. A dedicated husband and father, nothing was more important to Ray than his family. Not only did they raise a family in that home, but it acted as a place to showcase Ray’s many talents and interests. On the walls were his watercolors, in the backyard the koi pond Ray built with his kids, and in the garage his dream car, a powder blue 1967 convertible Corvette Sting Ray—one of many classic cars Ray owned. In a blink of an eye, Ray & Dolly’s kids grew up, got married and started having kids of their own. Those 5 Grandchildren; Gabriel, Alina, Lola, Shane and Quinn were adored by Ray and he had a special bond with each of them. Ray & Dolly decided to downsize and moved to Asbury Park, NJ. This revitalized shore town was the perfect mix of old and new for Ray & Dolly. They quickly embraced their new hometown, and the lively eclectic Asbury community embraced them right back. Asbury was immediately introduced to Ray’s talents and he quickly became the defacto resident artist for the area, painting one historic Asbury landmark after another. In his work, Ray portrayed the beauties of life, small moments in nature that many overlooked. Through his honest and impressive watercolors he gave other people an appreciation of the world around them. At the time it was as if Ray’s own post retirement career was blossoming in tandem with Asbury’s own resurgence. As streets like Cookman Ave. were revitalized and new buildings went up and old ones were brought back to former glory, Ray churned out amazing watercolors that celebrated the town’s rebirth. His paintings didn’t just grace the walls of the many residents who bought his work for their homes, his iconic images were all over town—literally. Ray helped launch a city wide banner program by generously donating images from his paintings that depicted iconic buildings and scenes from the city. In total 50 banners with Ray’s images hung throughout Asbury. The classic Carousel painting Ray did was also used as the Asbury Park Historical Society’s logo, an organization both Ray & Dolly generously contributed countless hours to. Ray was also a fixture at the Annual Art Show in Asbury every year on the boardwalk. Everywhere you looked in Asbury there was evidence of Ray, whether it was his work hanging from lamposts or the man himself sitting on the boardwalk watching the ocean. There’s no question his presence will be felt in Asbury for many years to come. There wasn’t a Frank Sinatra song Ray didn’t love, he even named his daughter Nancy after the famous singer’s daughter. A veteran who proudly served his country, Ray was an amazing portrait in contrast; gentle yet strong, humble yet talented, old school yet progressive, proud yet self deprecating. He had a great sense of humor and made himself the target of many of his jokes. If you spent enough time with Ray, you were bound to hear one of many “Ray-ism” such as “Two wrongs don’t make a right, but three lefts do” or “Now you’re cooking with juice Bruce.” He was an incredibly unique person who will be deeply missed and always loved. Ray is survived by his loving wife of 56 years, Dolly, his adoring children and grandchildren and many loving family members and friends. In lieu of flowers please donate to the Asbury Park Historical Society in his name. Due to Covid a memorial service will be held at a later date.  
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