Obituary of William Jacques Hakim

William Jacques “Bill” Hakim, of Freehold died Sunday, February 21, 2016 at CentraState Medical Center, Freehold Township. He was 92 years old. He was born in Antwerp, Belgium in 1923, the oldest of seven children. During WWII his family was a part of the Belgian Underground, his family’s home had been used as a German headquarters, and he was arrested by the Germans before the Americans liberated the village in 1944. He moved to the United States in 1949. He worked for Bendix Corporation before retiring and getting a job at the Monmouth County Courthouse as a court officer, serving for 25 years before retiring in 2010 at the age of 86. He worked for the Board of Elections as a Poll Worker for a few years after retirement. He was a member of the Knights of Columbus for over 60 years and was most recently a member of the Freehold Council #1672, where he served as Grand Knight from 1995-1997, and became a member of the Monsignor Kivelitz Assembly 4th Degree Knights of Columbus in the 1990’s. He was a member of the Freehold Borough Republican Party and served on the Freehold Borough Board of Education from 1970-1979 when the Freehold Learning Center was constructed. He was also a Boy Scout and a Girl Scout leader for several years and a member of Indian Guides. He was a communicant of St. Rose of Lima Roman Catholic Church in Freehold, where he served as a sacristan, lector, Eucharistic minister, and money counter. He is pre-deceased by his wife Ethel Fitzgerald in 2003, and his two brothers Pierre and Jacques. He is survived by his four sisters, Olga, Elizabeth “Betty”, Marguerite “Maggie”, and Nicole; his three children, son Thomas and his wife Dawn, daughter Jeanne-Marie Story and her husband Jim, and daughter Alice McCobb and her husband Patrick; six grandchildren, Shawn Thompson and wife Jan, Andrew Story and wife Jaime, Tonya Ellis and husband Jacob, Christopher Story and wife Michelle, Erin Cabe and husband Daniel, and Amanda McCobb; and thirteen great-grandchildren. Visiting hours will be held at the Higgins Memorial Home, 20 Center Street, Freehold on Thursday from 2:00 to 4:00 and 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. The Funeral Liturgy will be celebrated at St. Rose of Lima Church, Freehold on Friday at 10:00 a.m. followed by interment at the parish cemetery. Freehold Council No. 1672 services will be held on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. Memorial donations to St. Rose of Lima Church, 16 McLean Street, Freehold, NJ 07728 would be appreciated.