'Radiant' Zusy Remembered on Sunny Village Day

On a flawless day in Ridgewood, villagers gathered to honor one of their own.

Councilwoman Anne Zusy was remembered Tuesday at West Side Presbyterian Church as a mother, wife, friend, neighbor, sister, gardener, and Ridgewood lover. Fellow council members, family and friends offered a fond tribute for Zusy, who died June 3 at 58.

"It strikes me that, for Annie, the entire village of Ridgewood was her garden," said celebrant Rev. Sarah Lammert of the Unitarian Society. "She tended to her family and her friends, her flowers and her vegetables, and her community—planting not for herself but for a shared vision." 

The teeming church was packed with Zusy's well-wishers. Representatives from all walks of village life paid their respects. Her four council colleagues sat in the front row, and Board of Education members looked on.

A funeral procession stopped in front of Village Hall along North Maple Avenue before arriving at the North Monroe Street church—in the shadows of George Washington Middle School (where she served as Federated Home and School Association president) and her West Ridgewood Avenue home. An honor guard of the Ridgewood Police and Fire Departments led the procession into the church.

Zusy—a "radiant" figure, as her husband Al Ortiz described her—lived a colorful life. Born in Egypt in 1952 to an American Catholic journalist and Jewish mother, Zusy learned loss at an early age when her mother died. Following her father's lead, Zusy became a journalist. While working for the Associated Press, she met and married Ortiz. She later worked for The New York Times before settling into village life as "perennial volunteer," and eventually was elected to council in 2008.

A "humanist to the fullest extent," as son Alex said, the Unitarian preacher joked about the funeral in a Presbyterian church with Islamic, Jewish and Christian scriptural readings. Mohammed Tantawi offered two "Suras" from the Quran in Arabic and English; Johanna Resnick Rosen recited "The Memorial Prayer" in Hebrew and English; and Our Lady of Mount Carmel Roman Catholic Church Rev. Ronald Rozniak led "Psalm 23" and "The Lord's Prayer."

Many speakers gave heartfelt and personal tributes, with every reflection possessing a few touching jokes on the late councilwoman. Mayor David Pfund and Deputy Mayor Keith Killion each joked that they had to look up words Zusy used after conversations with her.

Zusy's stepmother, Mary Jane, attended the service Tuesday along with her brothers and sisters—nine days after their father, Fred, died at age 96 May 30.

Younger sister Cathie Zusy talked about the common interests Fred Zusy had with his eldest daughter.

"As a teenager, Annie would fall asleep each night reading with her glasses and light on, while dad sat in his chair each evening, reading from his pile of nonfiction," she said. 

Longtime friend Susie Taylor said, "The thing Annie did best was love her family—particularly her children."

In one of the day's many emotional moments, Zusy's three children—Eliza, Katie and Alex—addressed the congregation and honored their mother.

Eliza—going on her senior year at Boston University—said she would regret not be able to share a cocktail with her mother at her 21st birthday, among other life experiences.

"Being without you will be one of the most difficult things I will ever have to experience. But you've taught me to be strong and to take care of myself."

Zusy's youngest daughter, Katie will be graduating from Ridgewood High School in the coming weeks.

"Growing up as your daughter has been an interesting experience to say the least," she said. "There would be so many times when someone would stop me and say hello and ask thoughtful questions about you even though I didn't even know who they were."

Alex, her oldest child and an Arabic studies student at the American University in Cairo, talked about what he could learn from his mother's life.

"As you heard, Mom was very simple, but the singular, existential rule of Annie Zusy was the practice of giving," he said. "Indeed, the act of giving is how she affected change in everything she put her hands into."

After thanking everyone for participating, Al Ortiz led the assembly in a rendition of "Amazing Grace" to close the service.  

Following the ceremony, mourners gathered at the Village Hall Community Center—a facility Zusy had a hand in erecting. 

The councilwoman will be cremated and laid to rest in private.

A scholarship for public service was established in honor of the late councilwoman to be given annually to a graduating Ridgewood High School senior. Memorial donations may be given to the Ridgewood Education Foundation (PO Box 575, Ridgewood, NJ 07451) or—for the scholarship—to the Ridgewood Board of Education Center, 49 Cottage Place.