Kenneth Christy Sr., quality-control head

Kenneth E. Christy Sr. "was a very sensible, very reliable man," a friend, Carol Meloni, recalled.

It helped to have that kind friend when you were riding Harleys all the way from South Jersey to Lake George, N.Y.

Mr. Christy and his wife, Elizabeth, were on one bike and Mrs. Meloni and her husband were on the other.

Twice in the late 1990s, the couples rode up and back in the motorcycle rally known as Americade.

"It got a little sore after a while," she said, with a laugh. "But it was a lot of fun."

On Monday, June 22, Mr. Christy, 68, of Deptford, who retired in 2005 as a quality-control superintendent for New Jersey American Water in Delran, died of multiple systems atrophy at home.

The company's website states that it supplies water and wastewater service to 2.5 million clients in 17 counties.

Mr. Christy, his wife, said, "was responsible for the safety of the drinking water from Riverside to Cape May."

Born in Barrington, Mr. Christy lived in Glendora for 35 years before moving in 2011 to the Villages, Fla. The Christys recently returned to South Jersey.

Mr. Christy graduated from Lincoln Preparatory School in Philadelphia in 1964 and studied water quality at Rutgers-Camden.

He worked briefly in the renal lab at the University of Pennsylvania but was laid off, his wife said.

It was a fortunate layoff, she said. "He was unemployed, went to the unemployment office, they sent him to American Water, and they hired him."

It was 1966, the start of his only career, she said. "He was 19 years old, a lab technician in Haddon Heights. And he worked his way up."

At American Water, Mr. Christy was a quality-control superintendent from the late 1980s until he retired in 2005, she said. He was a member of the South Jersey Water Superintendents Association.

As a resident of Glendora, his wife said, Mr. Christy was a Little League baseball coach and treasurer there from 1977 to 1989.

Besides his wife of 50 years, Mr. Christy is survived by sons Casey and Brandon, two brothers, and four grandchildren.

Viewings were set from 6 to 8 p.m. Sunday, June 28, and from 9:15 to 10:15 a.m. Monday, June 29, at the Gardner Funeral Home, 126 S. Black Horse Pike, Runnemede, before an 11 a.m. Funeral Mass at St. Rose of Lima Church, 300 Kings Hwy., Haddon Heights, with interment in St. Joseph's Cemetery, Chews Landing.

Donations may be sent to the Villages Hospice House, 601 Casa Bella, the Villages, Fla. 32162.

Condolences may be offered to the family at www.gardnerfuneralhome.com.