Robert Zadra

Robert “Bob” Zadra, 82, of New York City, passed away on September 5, 2026, after a brief illness. Bob was born and raised in the Bronx, the older child of Rose (nee Akawie) and George Zadra and big brother to Marlene. Bob was a resourceful child, the only hearing member of his immediate family. Bob’s love of bakeries and food stemmed from the bags of rolls, cakes, and other treats that his father, a baker, brought home at the end of a long day. Who doesn’t want two chopped liver sandwiches for breakfast?

Bob’s closest lifelong friends formed during childhood and they can attest to the eating contests that Bob championed. Bob graduated from Taft High School while working part-time in the neighborhood pharmacy. Toward the end of his years at Columbia School of Pharmacy, he met Phyllis (nee Rehr), taking her to see the Knicks for a first date in January 1966. They were the perfect match for over 58 years! His easy-going nature and sunny attitude made him her ideal partner.

Phyllis helped Bob improve his grades and made his life a thousand percent better. After becoming a pharmacist, Bob taught high school science at the Bentley School in Manhattan in the early 1970s. He earned two master’s degrees in education and served as the Bentley School principal. He loved the students and they loved him right back, reconnecting with him four decades later.

Bob returned to being a full-time pharmacist and began working at Town & Country Apothecary in Ridgewood, NJ in the mid-1970s when he and Phyllis moved to River Vale, NJ to raise their children in the “country”. Bob loved being part of the Ridgewood community for nearly 40 years from July 4th parades to Christmas Eve gift wrapping and every family story that came in between. Bob had an incredible work ethic, working six days a week, rising early to open the store. Even with his work schedule, he always picked-up bagels on his way home to make his girls’ lunches the following day.

Bob was extremely proud of being a father to his daughters, Gabrielle (Mark) and Jaime (Jeffrey), and even more proud of his five grandchildren, Jonah, Zachary, Raphael, Henry, and Zoey. Bob coached his daughters’ soccer and softball teams and stayed on as a soccer coach after his own kids stopped playing. He served as school board member and president for the River Vale (NJ) public school district. He tried to attend every tennis match played by Gabs and Jaime and he even developed his own sideline cheers. Bob was an extremely dedicated and loving father. He always offered a compliment and praise, he encouraged his girls to go after what they wanted, speak up for what’s right, and stand up for themselves.

Bob had an incredible moral compass, focused on separating right from wrong, speaking up, and helping those who needed it. Advocacy and coaching were two of his specialties.

Bob instilled his grandchildren with his mantra, “Be your best self.” He was a devoted, encouraging, and loving parent and grandparent.

As a grandparent, he took joy in every little thing. During the past 15 years, he was there from the beginning – feeding, bathing, burping – and when they were older, he helped with the dreaded science projects and attended sports tournaments. He served as a homeschool teacher and companion to his grandkids during the 2020-2021 pandemic, attending kindergarten zoom with his granddaughter and math zoom with his grandson. Some of the most unforgettable times were when Bob and Phyllis took their grandkids on trips to Washington DC, Boston, New Hampshire, Colorado, South Dakota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Hawaii, Mexico, Montana, Toronto, Upstate New York, Texas, and of course, New York City. Just one month before his passing, Bob and Phyllis traveled to Toronto to watch Zach play golf in the Maccabi games.

Bob was a true sports aficionado. An early adopter of The Athletic app, Bob supported all New York area professional sports teams. He and Phyllis traveled to all but five MLB ballparks. For nearly 50 years, Bob attended every day of the first week of the US Open. He had a seat in the Grandstand where the shade arrives early in the afternoon. On the day that he learned of his brain tumor in August 2026, his first question for the doctor was whether he would still make it to the Open this year given his surgery date of August 19. He also traveled over the years to many tennis tournaments, including Wimbledon and twice to each of Roland Garros and the Australian Open.

Together, Bob and Phyllis traveled to more than 100 baseball and basketball games. The two showed everyone how great retirement can be. They built their own trips, traveling across continents to Australia, New Zealand, Southern Africa, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Bulgaria, Turkey, Colombia, Argentina, Chile, England, Ecuador, and that was just in the past decade.

Thank you to the wonderful nurses, caregivers, and doctors at NYU and Rusk Rehab who helped Bob and his family so much during his last few weeks.

In lieu of flowers or food, memorial donations can be made to the New York Public Library and the Central Park Conservancy.