Roslyn Carol Herwitt

Roz as she was known to family and friends was a beautiful person inside and out. She was born in December of 1941, and was the eldest of three children. Pearl (her mother) and Joseph (her father) were married for over 55 years and lived in Washington DC (where Roz was born), NY, NJ and finally KY. Roz’s only living sibling is her sister Susan Donnet. Susan’s husband David and children- Stuart, Deborah and Uri — loved Roz. Her brother Bruce was tragically killed in a car accident when he was 36 by a drunk driver. Bruce’s son Damon Mann Long was close to Roz.

Roz went to William Paterson University and studied to became a teacher. She worked for about a year and got married in 1963 and began a family. She wed Michael Herwitt and had her first child when she was 24 yrs old. Roz quit working and dedicated herself to raising her children and went on to have three more — Jennifer, Jeff and Andrea. Roz and Mike settled in Cresskill NJ where all the kids went through high school. Roz was an observant Jew, she joined a temple (it was Beth el in Closter but is now Kol Dorot) and all four children had bar/bat mitzvahs and confirmations. Roz kept a kosher house — with some funny exceptions like Chinese take out on paper plates and maybe a cheeseburger was made on some tinfoil to be thrown out after.

Roz and Mike divorced in 1983 and she started life over again at age 41. After being out of work for over 20 years, she started substitute teaching and worked her way into a permanent teaching position. Money was tight, but she persisted. She finally landed a full time teaching position at Christopher Columbus Middle School in Clifton NJ. She truly loved her job as a middle school language arts teacher. Roz was beloved by her students and kept in touch with many of them for years after they left the middle school. She kept every single gift every student gave her! On top of her full time teaching job, Roz was in charge of the school play for many years. What fabulous productions she would create! If that wasn’t enough, Roz also served in various roles on the Cresskill Board of Education. She retired after a fulfilling 30 year career.

Roz was a proud democrat and member of the NJ teachers union.

Roz had many close women friends. She had a posse that she played tennis with, went to the theater, symphony, museums and were members of the same book club. Roz was an avid reader and always had a book by her side. She religiously did The NY Times crossword puzzle in pen and rarely had to scratch out an incorrect word. Roz had the chance to travel to Costa Rica and Croatia with two of her daughters. Special memories to be cherished forever.

She played doubles on a tennis team and in 1999 won the regional championship! She loved watching tennis and went to the US Open almost every year she could.

Roz was her children’s biggest fans and in love with her grandchildren and spent every moment she could visiting with them. She loved reading to them, watching silly cartoons and playing games.

Grandchildren— Allyssa (30), Flynn (19), Sadie (18), Olivia (11), William (10), Henry (8), and Alexandra (7)

Her childrens’ spouses-Jim Sullivan (married to Allison), Sarah Herwitt (married to Jeff) and Jonathan Falcichio (married to Andrea).

Her niece and nephews- Damon, Stuart, Uri, and Deborah.

In 2017 Roz started to show signs of dementia and by 2019 we moved her into the memory care facility at Brandywine Living in Livingston NJ. She sadly and slowly began to fade away. By 2023 she was no longer able to recognize family and was losing the ability to communicate. But anytime her grandchildren came to visit she would light up and we could see glimmers of the woman who loved and raised us.

Roz was deeply loved and will be missed terribly. We will keep her alive in our memories and hearts.