Alton Walter Havens

Alton Walter Havens, age 85, longtime resident of Cream Ridge and New Egypt, passed away Friday, October 2, 2026 at Virtua Willingboro Hospital after a short illness.

He was born on November 17, 1940 in Trenton, NJ., and attended Allentown High School, where he met his future wife, Elizabeth Storepin Havens, at a dance in the gymnasium. “I was standing there next to a bunch of other more popular girls,” she recalled. “He came walking from the other side of the room, and they all thought he was going to ask them to dance – but he walked right up to me, and asked me, and that’s how we met. It just grew into love from there.”

After graduation, Alton joined the Navy, serving aboard the USS Ault from August 1960 to August 1962, first as a fireman apprentice, then as a fireman, working in the destroyer’s boiler room.

For part of the time, the ship was stationed in the Mediterranean, and whenever it was in port, some members of the crew liked to head to bars to drink. They invited Alton to go with them, but he always declined, choosing instead to take in the sights of Italy, Turkey, France, Greece and the other countries where the ship docked. He documented what he saw in scrapbooks and in letters home to Liz, whom he had married five months before setting sail.

After receiving an honorable discharge from the Navy in 1962, Alton worked in the boiler room of the Naval Air Propulsion Center in Trenton, and when it closed, he went to work as a boiler technician at the Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility, where he remained until his retirement in 2012.

He also continued to serve in the Naval Reserves, spending two weeks at sea every year.

He was deeply proud of his Naval service, and hung a framed photo of each of the ships on which he’d served on the wall of his home.

When he wasn’t working, Alton’s greatest joy in life was his family. He and his wife did everything together, going out to eat, going to craft fairs and festivals, and spending time with their granddaughters. Alton’s definition of family also included his beloved dachshunds, who were equally devoted to him, and could often be found curled next to him on the couch.

In his spare time, Alton loved spending time in his flower garden, birdwatching, and taking leisurely rides on his motorcycle. He held a deep admiration for steam trains, NHRA drag racing, and NASCAR. He loved to tinker and work on his car and those of family members. And he was legendary in the neighborhood for the firewood he laid in every year, often showing up with his chainsaw to help neighbors deal with fallen trees and branches. “He helped everyone who needed help,” Liz said. “That was just his nature. He just wanted to help people.”

Alton is predeceased by his parents; two sons, Stephen Havens and Joseph Havens; his three brothers, George Havens, Joseph Havens, and Robert Havens; and his daughter-in-law, Betty Havens. In addition to his beloved wife of 66 years, he leaves behind his son, Duane Havens, and his wife Cheryl of Cookstown; daughters Brenda Havens of Cream Ridge; and Kimberly Beatty and her husband Tim, of Browns Mills; his two grandchildren, Jamie Messino and her husband Mark, and Shelby Beatty; and his great-grandson, Russell.

Family and friends are invited to attend a visitation for Alton on Saturday, October 10, 2026 from 9 AM to 11 AM at Tilghman Funeral Home located at 52 Main Street, New Egypt, NJ 08533. A memorial mass will begin at 11:30 AM at St. Isidore the Farmer Parish Church of the Assumption located at 28 Monmouth Road/Route 537, Wrightstown, NJ 08562. Interment will immediately follow Mass at Assumption Cemetery located on Evergreen Road in New Egypt, NJ.