Livingston community

On January 20, the Girls’ Track and Field team from Livingston High School (LHS) traveled to Ocean Breeze Athletic complex in Staten Island for the Essex County Relays Championships.

First on the track was the Shuttle Hurdle Relay. Led by sophomore Nesta Oji, followed by junior Allie Nankivell, Sophia Wang, and cocaptain Darcy Bialick, the team finished in first with a national qualifying time of 33.82.

Next was the distance medley. Senior co-captain Taylor Dannis ran the 1200M, who handed off to freshman Erika Tiuca for the 400M leg, followed by junior Sarah Nidhan. Anchoring the relay with the 1600M leg was senior co-captain Sophia Paparsenos. The race was tight and everyone ran a personal best. The team finished in third place with a time of 13.41.96.

Nancie Papazian died in her Livingston home on Wednesday, January 17.

A long-time resident of Scotch Plains, Mrs. Papazian was born in Watertown, Massachusetts. She moved with her husband, Harry, and their family to Scotch Plains. They became active members of St. Mary Armenian Church in Livingston. She later lived in South Orange and, most recently, Livingston.

She was predeceased by her husband in 2012, after 58 years of marriage. She was also predeceased by her brothers, Haig and Richard. She is survived by her three children, John Papazian (Carol); Holly Guber (Tom); and Tom Papazian (Theresa Thibault); and four grandchildren.

Visitation was held at Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home in Livingston on Sunday, January 21. A service was held at St. Mary Armenian Church, Livingston, on Monday January 22.

Frances Ruth Wortzel of Bridgewater, formerly of Livingston, died January 17 at the Chelsea at Bridgewater. She was 99 years old.

Born and raised in Newark, she lived in Livingston and later split time between Boynton Beach, Florida and West Orange, before moving to Bridgewater.

Mrs. Wortzel earned a bachelor of arts degree from Montclair State Teachers’ College in 1944 and a master of business administration degree from New York University in 1949. She worked 43 years with her husband, Dr. Martin H. Wortzel, a dermatologist in private practice with offices in Newark, Millburn and Caldwell. He predeceased her in 1997.

She is survived by her children, Barbara Franzblau of Bridgewater, and Dr. Jay Wortzel (Karen) of Wayside; and three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

Amanda Nicole Magenheim of Livingston died Friday, January 12, at the age of 21.

Ms. Magenheim was born and raised in Livingston and attended Pennsylvania State University.

She is survived by her parents, Donna (Christensen) and Sanford Magenheim; and her sisters, Alyssa and Erica.

She had been a cheerleader in high school, and was a dean’s list student at Penn State. She had planned to obtain a master’s degree in occupational therapy and become an occupational therapist.

Visitation was held on Wednesday, January 17, at Garrett Jones Memorial Home (Shook-Farmer) in Roseland. A funeral Mass was offered on Thursday, January 18, in the Saint Philomena Roman Catholic Church in Livingston. The interment was private.

In lieu of flowers, the family has suggested that donations in Ms. Magenheim’s memory be made to Penn State THON, a student-run philanthropy committed to enhancing the lives of children and families impacted by childhood cancer.

George Martin Barras passed away peacefully at home on January 16, 2024, a month shy of his 96th birthday.

He was born on February 17, 1928 in Burnley, Lancashire, England, to Jonathan Barras, a civil servant, and Elizabeth Barras (née Seery), a homemaker from Kildare, Ireland. He recalled fond childhood memories at Turf Moor, the home of Burnley FC, visits to Blackpool, and school at Saint Mary’s Parish.

George was a self-employed painter and wallpaper contractor. He left Britain for North America aboard the Queen Elizabeth, first settling in Toronto, and later making New Jersey his home. One night he attended a dance in Newark where he struck up one of his trademark conversations with an Irish woman named MaryAnn Flahive, they married in 1956.

Nilay Shriram of Livingston Boy Scout Troop 12 became an Eagle Scout during a Court of Honor ceremony on Saturday, January 6. The Eagle Scout rank is the highest rank that the Boys Scouts of America offers.

During his ceremony, Mayor A1 Anthony congratulated Shriram on his Eagle Project, which benefits St. Hubert’s Animal Shelter. Anthony stated that Shriram’s project personally touched him, as he is the liaison to the Livingston Council’s Animal Shelters, and his father had owned a pet store for over 37 years.

Shriram began his scouting career during second grade, at eight years old. He joined as a Wolf Scout in Pack 16. Over his elementary school years, he gained different Cub Scout skills; collecting various belt loops; participating in the exciting pinewood derby; and going to Taconic every December.

SOUTH LIVINGSTON AVENUE CLOSED: At 12:46 p.m. on Tuesday, January 16, Livingston Police officers responded to the area of South Livingston Avenue in front of St. Philomena’s Church on a report of a one-car motor vehicle crash. Officers arrived and found that a 2014 Honda Odyssey had traveled off the roadway and a utility pole had been snapped and was lying on top of the car. The driver of the Honda a 53-year-old Livingston woman - had exited the vehicle by the time police officers had arrived. She told officers that she lost control of the vehicle while driving on South Livingston Avenue, due to the ice and snow covered roadway. The vehicle then left the roadway and struck the utility pole. The driver was uninjured. The roadway was closed between Town Hall and Bennington Road for much of Tuesday, as PSE&G and Verizon crews worked to repair the pole. MI Photo

On December 16, Livingston High School’s “A” Academic Team competed at the annual Garden State Cup championships. Having won last year’s edition, the team defended its title this school year in a field of a record 66 teams from the greater NJ/ NY/CT/DE metropolitan area.

The LHS “A” team is now currently ranked #6 in the nation and #1 in the Northeast (the “B” team is ranked #101).

“This represents our highest National ranking in my 25 years as coach,” said LHS Academic Team coach, Guy Rabner.

“A” Team Captain Robert Wang (junior), Sophia Wu (senior), Kevin Zhang (junior) and Lelun Li (junior) went undefeated, 10-0, on the day. Livingston defeated Hunter College High School’s “A” Team in the final by an impressive score of 570-165, dominating the match from the start. This marked Livingston’s second consecutive finals victory over Hunter College High School, having defeated them in the Princeton University finals in September.

HOCKEY TEAM BESTED BY CRANFORD: The Livingston boys’ ice hockey team was defeated by the Cranford Cougars, 5-3, on Saturday, January 13. The game took place at the Codey Arena. Above, Lancer right winger Ryan Zales, #2, shoots against the Cranford goalie. The shot deflected off of the goalie’s pads. Directly below, Lancer goalie Brody Teitelbaum, #30, makes the save against the Cranford center forward

In May of 2023, Governor Phil Murphy declared January to be Muslim Heritage Month in New Jersey. When this legislation passed, Muslim leaders called it an historic moment. New Jersey was just the fourth state in the country to create such a month. These leaders also noted that recognizing Muslim Heritage Month will help to combat discrimination against Muslims. Last week, following urging from some residents, the Township Council stated a plan to pass a resolution acknowledging the month in Livingston at its next meeting.