Obituary
Joan Fritzky Murray, adored wife, mother, grandmother, daughter, sister, aunt, and friend, was greeted into heaven on October 6, 2024, with long and strong hugs given by her parents, Rose and Frank Frizky, her brothers Frankie and Bobby, her son-in-law Tom, and countless others who she loved who passed before her…the queue is no doubt still forming.
Joan was born on January 27, 1944 at Margaret Hague Hospital in Jersey City. At the time her father was deployed in Europe, serving as a medic in WWII. She was two years old when she met her father for the first time. Even though she was a toddler, she could always remember with clarity and joy the first time she met him.
Joan and her family moved to Poplar Avenue in Hackensack in 1950. There, her parents raised their seven children in a three-bedroom house with only one bathroom. Quarters were tight, but it was always filled with love and laughter.
Growing up she attended St. Boniface in Jersey City, Holy Trinity in Hackensack, and St. Cecilia’s High School in Englewood. Joan had an incredible faith in God, and she lived her life walking side by side with Jesus. Her life was rooted and guided by her faith.
During her teenage years, Joan became involved in the First Saturday Club, a group founded by her aunt Mary Varick. The group held a mass and luncheon on the first Saturday of each month and was for individuals with disabilities, especially those in wheelchairs. In addition to the monthly masses, members of the club took pilgrimages every summer to shrines of St. Anne de Beaupre and Our Lady of the Cape in Canada. Joan volunteered with the First Saturday Club throughout her adult life, getting her children involved as volunteers and bringing them along on the pilgrimages to Canada each summer.
She met her husband, Joseph Murray, on a blind date in 1967. They went ice skating in Branch Brook Park in Newark and thus began their love story and partnership that spanned 57 wonderful years.
Joan was predeceased by her loving brothers Frankie and Bobby. She is survived by her husband, Joseph, her five children, Keri Mottola, Susanne Byrne, wife of Tom (deceased), Joseph Murray and his wife Sara, Jane Graham and her husband Darren, and Mary Anne Fox and her husband Zach. And the center of Joan’s world was her 14 grandchildren, Brooke Murray, wife of Evan, Sophia Mottola, Jack Mottola, Tommy Byrne, Seamus Byrne, James Graham, Siobhan Byrne, Evan Graham, Quinn Graham, Stella Murray, Wesley Fox, Xavier Fox, Jonah Fox, and Gavin Fox.
She is also survived by her adoring siblings, Holly, wife of Frankie, Patty, wife of Bobby, brothers Richie and his wife Maggie, Jackie and his wife Eileen, Billy and his wife Luann, and her sister, Mary Anne and her husband Bill. And so many cousins, nieces, nephews…the list of all who she loved and who loved her would take up the whole paper.
Joan was a devoted parishioner at St. Joseph’s Church in Oradell, NJ. She was an active part of the parish from 1973 until the time of her death. She was involved in multiple ministries, including the Social Concerns, Legion of Mary, and Cornerstone, to name only a few. She met many of her great friends through St. Joseph’s and was a true fixture in that community.
Joan loved helping others, hers was a life of service. Her pure heart and selfless spirit touched the lives of everyone who was blessed to know her. Through the First Saturday Club and working at Spectrum for Living in Closter, Joan worked with many people who didn’t have family to spend the holidays with. Joan would pick them up and bring them home on Thanksgiving and Christmas to celebrate with her family. Late into the night, when she was driving them back home, they would thank her and she always thanked them back, stating that it was her joy to do so.
Her family and friends are welcome to celebrate Joan’s life at William G. Basralian Funeral Home 559 Kinderkamack Road, Oradell, NJ on Thursday, October 10th from 4:00pm-8:00pm (be prepared to wait in a long line). Funeral mass will be offered at St. Joseph’s Church 300 Elm Street, Oradell, NJ on Friday, October 11th at 10:30am. Interment to follow at St. Joseph’s Cemetery, 179 Hackensack Avenue, Hackensack, NJ. Join us as we raise Joan to glory, until then she will be in the palm of His hand.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Catholic Family & Community Services, 775 Valley Rd., Clifton, NJ 07013.
Posted online on October 08, 2024
Published in Record and Herald News