West Essex Tribune

Livingston Police officers are actively investigating an armed robbery that took place Monday evening, October 4.

At 10:45 p.m., two masked people robbed the Tiger Mart convenience store attached to the Exxon gas station at 649 South Orange Avenue. One of the suspects was armed with a handgun which was pointed at the clerk.

The robbery was called in by an attendant at the gas pumps who saw the robbery taking place in the store. When police arrived, employees told officers that the robbers fled on foot toward East Hobart Gap Road.

Witnesses then told officers the two suspects entered a waiting car, which sped off. No injuries were reported and about $880 was stolen from the store registers.

Both suspects were wearing track suits, one dark in color and the other with a light blue top. Anyone who was in the area and may have witnessed anything is asked to call the Livingston Police detective bureau at 973-992-3000.

Claire Frances Waldron (née Mehl) of Livingston died on Monday, October 4, surrounded by her family. She was 87 years old.

A Funeral Mass will be offered on Thursday, October 7, at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of the Lake Church, 32 Lakeside Avenue, Verona. Interment will follow at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover.

Mrs. Waldron was born in Orange and lived in the Oranges before moving to Livingston. She worked for Midlantic Bank in South Orange as a teller for many years.

She was the wife of the late Robert Waldron, and the mother of Mary Reinke (Peter), Wally Waldron (Lynn), Billy Waldron (Dana), Kate O’Callaghan (Patrick), and Greg Waldron; the grandmother of nine, and the great-grandmother of one. She was also the sister of William Mehl, and the late Betty Brattlof, Ann Mehl, and Walter Mehl.

Mrs. Waldron was a member of the Rosary Altar Society at St. John’s Church and the St. Vincent DePaul Society at Saint Raphael’s Church.

TOP PLAYERS: Three Livingston High School varsity boys soccer players were named among the top 100 seniors in the state by NJ.com. The Livingston players earning the nod were Luke Chisarick, Jared Fiske and Logan Paredes.

Saint Barnabas Medical Center has received a $100 million donation from the Cooperman Family Foundation and will rename the hospital Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center (CBMC) in honor of the family’s gift.

The donation is the largest ever given to any hospital in New Jersey and will allow the medical center to continue its ongoing transformation into a world-class healthcare institution that provides the highest quality and most advanced care available anywhere in the New York metropolitan region.

“The Cooperman family has helped us to become the renowned institution that we are today,” said Barry Ostrowsky, president of RWJBarnabas Health. “Today’s generous gift from Leon and Toby Cooperman is transformational and ensures that our medical center will continue to develop as a state-of-the art medical campus and a leader in protecting and supporting the health of the community.”

Mitchell Katz of Livingston died on October 1, after a battle with cancer. He was 67 years old.

Mr. Katz grew up in Livingston and moved back after living elsewhere in New Jersey. He graduated from George Washington University and he spent most of his career at Vac-U-Max in sales.

Mr. Katz was predeceased by his father, Stanley Katz, his mother, Leatrice Gold, his stepfather, Ramon Gold and his brother Daniel Gold. He is survived by his wife of 41 years, Abby Rost-Katz, his two daughters, Shana Dryja (Corey) and Stacy Katz (Jason Berwanger); his grandson; his brothers, Ira Gold (Hemda), Elliot Katz (Claire); and his sisters, Jane Nichols (Mike) and Mara Gold.

A graveside service was held on October 4. Arrangements were by Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that donations may be sent to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center or to Cat Tales, Inc. of Warminster, Pennsylvania.

Walter Reiling, 87, of West Caldwell, formerly of Livingston, passed away peacefully on Sunday, October 3.

Wally was a gregarious, loving, generous, family man. Born in the Bronx, New York, where he grew up, he started working at the young age of 12 and helped support his family after his father died. Wally went on to have an extremely successful career in the toy industry. He founded two companies and was involved in the creation of some iconic toys over his 50-year career.

Wally was predeceased by Susan, his wife of almost 50 years. He is survived by his three children, Beth, Joseph, and Jill; their wonderful spouses, Amy, Drew, and Joe; and the light of his life, his five grandchildren, Eden, Lucas, Hannah, Cooper, and Sybella.

Jason C. Nedza of Livingston, New Jersey, age 46, passed away suddenly on Saturday, September 25, 2021. A Mass of Christian Burial was offered at St. Philomena Church, Livingston, New Jersey, on Tuesday, October 5, 2021. Interment followed at Gate of Heaven Cemetery, East Hanover, New Jersey. The family received their friends at Quinn-Hopping Funeral Home, 145 East Mt. Pleasant Avenue, Livingston, New Jersey, on Monday, October 4.

Jason, also known to many as “Jay Bird,” was a Mortgage Banker with American Mortgage Company in Livingston, New Jersey. Jason was predeceased by his parents, Alice A. Scheper and Andrew F. Nedza. He is survived by his brother, Jude and his wife, Stacy Nedza; his uncle, William and his wife, Mary Gayle Scheper; 12 cousins; and an “uncountable” amount of friends.

At nearly every Livingston Township Council meeting for the past year, much time has been devoted to the passage of ordinances that establish inclusionary development zones in town. Almost uniformly, these ordinances seek to establish overlay districts that would permit housing to be built in the area. Inclusionary zoning requires a given share of new construction to be affordable housing. Public hearings for these ordinances tend to be drawn out, as they, understandably, attract residents who neighbor the proposed zone and would be directly affected by the changes.

Livingston Township’s third and final Electronics Recycling and Paper Shredding event of 2021 will be held on Saturday, October 9, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. The event will be held in the rear parking lot of the Senior/ Community Center at 204 Hillside Avenue.

Collection events give residents a convenient way to safely dispose of TVs, computers, monitors, and other electronics which, by law, cannot be disposed of in curbside trash because they contain hazardous metals that pollute groundwater.

Residents can also bring fluorescent bulbs and rechargeable NiCad, lithium and SLA batteries for collection at the event. For safety, early drop-off is not permitted for bulbs or batteries; residents are asked to not leave these in the pre-event drop-off. Ordinary alkaline batteries should go in household trash.

In announcing Livingston Philanthropies’ largest merchandise donation in its history, founder and director Jeff Friedman, a 60-plus year resident of Livingston, recounted, “I never know what the next email or phone call will bring. Then, just a few days ago, it happened. I received an email at njhomeless@aol.com from a philanthropic Livingston shoe manufacturer. ‘Back in 2017, we donated about 200 pairs of shoes to your organization. It’s that time of year again. I have a bunch of shoes (brand new) that I would like to donate,’ he wrote to me.