Livingston Tribune

At the Monday, February 24, regular meeting of the Township Council, members approved the acquisition of a multimillion dollar open space property and honored two longstanding members of Livingston Neighbors Helping Neighbors.

The Council posthumously honored Karen Garber, who worked with the Community Hunger Outreach Warehouse (CHOW) food pantry, and Trudi Fredersdorf, who recently retired from the organization, which helps individuals and families in need. President Stacey Rubinstein said the organization has worked with 52 families since 2016.

Fredersdorf thanked Rubenstein for keeping up her work with Neighbors Helping Neighbors.

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Jacqueline Ann Lepore, 79, of Livingston, died on Friday, February 21.

She was born in Concord, Massachusetts to Pauline and Cornelius Sullivan, and was a librarian for the West Orange Public Library.

She was married to Crescenzo Lepore for 61 years, and was the mother of Chris Lepore and his wife, Susan, and Robin Raite and her husband, John; the grandmother of four; and the great-grandmother of four. She is also survived by her brother, Carl Sullivan, and his wife, Barbara.

A memorial gathering and service was held at Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home on Wednesday, February 26.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests making a donation in Mrs. Lepore’s name to Embrella, an organization serving local children and families in the foster care system, at embrella.org/donate-now/.

As the season winds down, the Livingston High School girls’ track and field team competed in three meets over a five-day stretch.

Eastern States

First up was the 86th Eastern States Championships, held at the New York City Armory on Tuesday, February 18. This prestigious meet draws competitors from many states along the East Coast. Schools must submit qualifying performances to be considered for acceptance to compete at this meet. LHS qualified four girls, in the 55 meter dash, the 55 meter high hurdles, the long jump and the 4x200 relay. More than 225 schools were represented at the meet. Liz Lam took on the 55 meter dash (7.65; 52nd place). Kayla Hudson (9.08; 39th) and Katrina Pham (9.86; 81st) gave it their all in the 55 meter high hurdle event. Joanne Cao (15’7”; 37th) went into the pit with an indoor personal best in the long jump for LHS. The 4x200 relay squad recorded a time of 1:51.9 for 26th.

RETIRES FROM DIVERSITY COMMITTEE: Keith Hines was honored on his retirement as co-chairman of the Livingston Committee of Diversity and Inclusion (LCDI) on Sunday, February 23, at Nero’s Grille in Livingston. More than 60 friends, family members, and elected officials honored Hines for his 22 years of service to Livingston. Attending were Livingston Township Council members Al Anthony and Michael Vieira; former Livingston mayor Arlene Johnson; and Essex County freeholder Pat Sebold. LCDI co-chairman Billy Fine and several guests toasted Hines. LCDI member Mike Ramer organized the event. Shown here, Hines (seated, at center) poses with a crowd of people who attended the event. At right, Hines plays violin as musician Ben Zabel looks on. Below are Fine, Carol Hines, Keith Hines and former Livingston mayor Arlene Johnson.

At the end of this week, two respected Livingston police officers will leave the department. Effective March 1, Lieutenant Reese Riley will retire after 26 years of service, and Sergeant Deborah Shumaker will retire following 27 and half years in law enforcement.

Additional information on Lt. Riley and Sgt. Shumaker will be featured in next week’s edition of the West Essex Tribune, which will be sent to every household in town, but we wanted to briefly acknowledge them in this week’s paper before they exited the force and enjoyed some well-earned time off.

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Tanya (Hodes) Tabak, of Verona and Boca Raton, Florida, formerly of Livingston, died on February 10. She grew up in Brooklyn.

Mrs. Tabak taught high school social studies, co-owned two child care centers, and was a child care director for Catholic Charities.

Predeceased by her husband of 63 years, S. Charles, in 2017, she is survived by two daughters, Elissa (Frank) Lombardo and Karen (Steven) Honig; a brother, Eugene Hodes; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

Services were held February 13 with arrangements by Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research (lustgarten.org) or the Foundation for Diabetes Research (njdiabetes. org) .

James J. Ernst, 80, of Livingston, passed away Saturday, February 22, 2020.

Born in Elizabeth to Edna and Charles E. Ernst. James served his country proudly in the U.S. Air Force.

He was the devoted husband of Margaret (Peg) Ernst; the loving father of Daniel J. Ernst and his wife, Linda, and Gregory S. Ernst and his wife, Lacie; the cherished grandfather of Jack, Kyle, Olivia, Ava, Leah, and Kate Ernst; and the dear brother of Nancy Knight and her late husband, Reese, Peter A. Ernst and his wife, Gail, and the late Carol Lieurance. James is also survived by many loving nieces, nephews, and close friends.

The family will receive relatives and friends for a memorial gathering at Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home, 145 East Mt. Pleasant Avenue, Livingston, on Saturday, February 29, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Elbio E. Ermossi, 81, died on Wednesday, February 19. He was born in Montevideo, Uruguay, to Dominga and Alberto Ermossi.

He was the husband of Delia Ermossi; the father of Rossana Mattia and her husband, Jim, and Fabiana Di-Gregorio and her husband, Thomas; the grandfather of six.

A Funeral Mass was offered at St. Philomena Church, followed by a committal service at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover, on Tuesday, February 25.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Mr. Ermossi’s name to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, www. mskcc.org would be appreciated.

Condolences may be left at quinnhoppingfuneral.com.

Cody, a small brown Havanese was safely returned home after he went missing for several days last week. He was reunited with his family, thanks to a helpful community, with many residents keeping tabs on the missing dog and reporting his whereabouts on social media.

Below, in their own words, Debbie and Yarin Kirchen, who were pet-sitting for Cody, detail the experience.

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Livingston residents may now register for renewal and new memberships to the town’s community pools.

A variety of memberships are available, including weekend, weekday, half season and full season memberships for families, couples, individuals, and seniors.

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