Judith Alma Shustin

Judith Alma Shustin lived up to her name and the beautiful life she so fully embraced. She aged with grace, dignity, and courage, and passed away a month shy of her 99th birthday.

Judith was born in New York City in 1927, the eldest of four daughters of Elsie and Dr. Henry Rubin. After a few years in Morristown, the family settled in an historic Lake Hopatcong mansion built in 1886 by architect Frank Furness for actress Lotta Crabtree. The family also owned a home and orange grove in Florida and Judith spent winters in Miami Beach and summers at the lake—two places she considered home throughout her life.

Judith was known for her beauty, intelligence, elegance, grace, and those sparkling blue eyes that caught the attention of Stanley Shustin, owner of Shustin’s Bon Air Lodge, a popular resort during the post war years. They married in 1945 when she was 18. She graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, beginning a lifetime devoted to creativity and artistic expression. A true artist, she explored photography, collage, painting, sculpture, poetry, and writing, all while raising 4 children. Wildly creative with boundless imagination, she saw beauty all around her even in the most mundane and transformed it into art.

Her interests were eclectic, including astrology, calligraphy, palmistry, natural medicine, family history; she documented every stage of family life as an excellent photographer and recorded everything in journals, scrapbooks, and photo albums. She was a collector—shells, graveyard poetry, stamps, coins, match boxes, jokes, and more. Garage saleing was her passion and being in or near the water was her great pleasure. She had a swimming stroke that glided without a ripple. She was a shell sculptor, rock painter, scrabble master, crossword puzzle wizard, and loved to dance. Her energy was inexhaustible, her creativity constant, her hands never idle.

Curious and adventurous, Judith traveled to more than 50 countries, many trips with her mother and three sisters. Independent and forward-thinking, she embraced yoga, tai chi, health foods, and natural living long before they were popular. She marched against the Vietnam War and supported the gay community early on. She was resilient, finding the golden kernel of goodness in all things, and fearless, unbound by convention, following the calling of her heart and passions. She was so much fun to be with.

For all her wings, Judith also had roots, and her family remained her center. Judith and Stanley shared 73 years of marriage and filled their Lake Hopatcong home with lively gatherings of family and friends. Her children were her focus throughout her life, and her grandchildren and great-grandchildren her joy in later years. Their memory of her love is an enduring legacy. She is survived by her sister Abigail, children Janel, Henry, and Beth, six grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren. Her family takes comfort believing she is reunited with her beloved husband, daughter Lonnie, her parents, and sisters Elaine and Naomi. She will be remembered for her creativity, unconditional love for family, her kindness, indomitable spirit, and the joy she brought to those who knew and loved her.