Longtime Realtor In Ridgewood, Other Bergen Co. Towns, Dies

RIDGEWOOD, NJ — A 19-year real estate agent at RE/MAX who specialized in Ridgewood and other Bergen County municipalities, and a former volunteer at a Ridgewood nursing home, passed away on Oct. 23, according to records.

Kate Conover, also a graduate of Ramapo College of New Jersey, died last week, and will be greatly missed by her family and friends, and by her coworkers and clients, her obituary published by C.C. Van Emburgh said.

Conover had listed and sold real estate for 25 years, her About Me page said on Zillow.com.

"The secret to my success isn't focusing on making myself #1, but making my clients #1," she said. "I treat their homes as if they were my own. It brings home quickly how very personal selling a home is."

A self-described "workaholic," her goal, she said on her LinkedIn, is to find a home that doesn't just fit the parameters her clients had set down for her, but feel like home to them.

"What I do is take the stress off their shoulders so they can focus on the home itself, and not financing, inspecting and negotiating," she said.

After a divorce, and as a single mother of three, Conover put herself through college to achieve her dream of finishing her degree, her obituary said. After graduating with honors, she built a career as a realtor.

"She worked hard in real estate until she could work no longer, and, even then, fought to stay involved to the extent that she could," her obituary added.

Conover was predeceased by her daughter Jennifer, dogs Nietzsche and Huxley, and cat Zarathustra. She is survived by her son Christopher Hermanns and his daughter Alexa, her son Billy Hermanns and his husband David Levine, and her grandson Michael.

"While Kate was known most for her outrageously strong political opinions and proclamations, she also loved fiercely," her obituary said.