Walking for the Late Annie Zusy

To prevent others from facing the devastating loss they've been through, the daughters of Annie Zusy will walk 39 miles.

Zusy was just 58 when she succumbed to lung cancer on June 3, 2010. She was a foreign correspondent for The New York Times before settling into a "perennial volunteer" role in her beloved Ridgewood. In 2008, she was elected to the Ridgewood Village Council. 

Her funeral drew hundreds, with friends, family, colleagues and neighbors recalling the late Zusy as one who fought injustice wherever she saw it, a tenacious woman who worked to make the world around her a warmer place.

Today, the youth center in Village Hall bears her name.

Eliza Ortiz, 23, and sister Katie Ortiz, 21, will honor their late mother by raising money for breast cancer research. They'll be participating in the New York City Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, a full marathon on Oct. 19 and a half marathon on Oct. 20. It's Eliza's third walk but Katie's first.

"She was a really proactive, go-getter type of person," said daughter Eliza of her mother. "She was all about giving back to the community – she was very involved in Ridgewood and always looking out for the greater good."

Zusy was also a survivor. She successfully fought breast cancer nearly 20 years ago.

"She was also very athletic so we thought the best way to honor her was to participate in an athletic event that gives back to the greater good," said Eliza. "To help other people so they don't have to lose their mother, to go through what we've gone through. We figured this is our way of helping, having an impact and turning something negative we went through into a positive."

In order to walk in October, Eliza and Katie Ortiz each must raise $1,800. The money raised will be allocated towards cancer research and treatments.

Help Eliza and Katie walk in honor of their money by donating here.