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By John Neusch
On Wednesday, February 7, 1940
Anthony Stewart Neusch was born on Frisby Ave in the Bronx,
NY. The world changed that day for the better because over
the next 83 plus years, Tony Neusch made an impactful
difference in every place he visited and the countless lives
he touched and influenced.
Dad grew up in Dumont, NJ with
his Dad, mom and brother Peter, my amazing Uncle. It was
here where Dad began to form his strong Faith, the
importance of family, the resilience of living life with
high morals, hard work and standards, the importance of
education and his love for sports especially baseball and
running.
 Dad’s
deep faith started early when he attended St. Mary’s school
in Dumont Kindergarten through 8th grade. He continued
living his faith and catholic education by attending St.
Peter’s Prep HS in Jersey City. During HS, Dad ran for the
St. Peter’s Prep cross country team and track team while
achieving the honor of captain for both teams his senior
year. Dad’s love of baseball was not neglected as he also
played for the local Babe Ruth teams during the same time.
It was also during his senior
year in HS that Dad met our mom at a CYO Christmas dance in
Teaneck on December 28, 1957. From that day on and for the
next 56 wonderful years, they were side by side, hand and
hand and heart to heart.
When Dad graduated HS in 1958,
his faith still growing, his desire to run and to further
his academic excellence, Dad chose to attend St. Peter’s
College, now St. Peter’s University, also in Jersey City.
Simultaneously, mom attended a catholic nursing school to
pursue her desire to become an RN.
During his four years at St.
Peter’s College, Dad once again achieved both academic and
sports excellence. He was captain of the cross-country team
and the track and field team, he also qualified for many
invitational races including the famed Melrose Games at
Madison Square Garden. Dad’s hard work was finally
recognized as he received the St. Peter’s College student
athlete award for his graduating class of 1962.
Despite all these hard-earned achievements, Dad would later
express that his greatest accomplishment in college was
joining the ROTC Program and a chance to serve his country.
Dad excelled at ROTC for 4 years, graduated with the rank of
2nd Lieutenant and by the time his commitment to the US Army
was completed, Dad reached the rank of Captain.
After waiting patiently for 4
years, mom and Dad were married on November 10, 1962
(ironically the marine corp birthday). Their love and
devotion to each other was further cemented when only 4
months later, Dad was deployed to Korea for 13 months.
Despite the distance and months apart, Dad wrote to my mom
every day expressing his unwavering love for her and how he
counted the days to when they will be reunited back in the
states. That finally happened in March of 1963 and they were
never apart again for the next 51 years.
After some time living in
Georgia finishing out his military commitment, Dad and mom
moved back to NJ and finally settled at 16 Poplar St,
Closter, NJ in June of 1965. It is here were Dad and mom
started our family and created and fostered a beautiful life
for all of us. Lucy was born in September of 1965, Chuck in
May of 1967, A.J. in June of 1969, myself in September of
1970 and Jim in February of 1972.
Dad was everything a Father
could be and much more. Dad provided a loving home for
everyone. Dad was always actively involved and invested in
all our activities, our schooling and our religious
education. Dad always
provided guidance, words of encouragement, the best advice,
the calming voice when needed and the steady and solid rock
every family needs.
This was a continuous attribute of Dad every day for our
family all the way up until the day he entered the hospital
this past July 20th.
Dad instilled morals, hard-work ethic, strong faith, the
love and devotion of family, the desire to give back and
help others, the importance of education and to always do
the right thing and be the better person. Sometimes these
life lessons were easy to learn growing up and sometimes we
made it difficult to master but Dad never wavered and always
steered the ship to make sure we were all headed in the
right direction no matter how old we all were.
All the Fatherly advice and life lessons Dad wanted us to
adhere to were not just hollow words Dad was speaking. Dad
illustrated all of them every day by living by example. Dad
has been a devoted parishioner of St. Mary’s Church since
1965. Over the years, Dad has been a EM, a Lector, Parish
Council member, President of the Parish Council, Pre-Caina
instructor, bringing communion to shut-ins, finance advisor,
going to daily mass since his retirement in 1997, and
countless other church activities and events over the past
58 years.(Importance of going to church – my vacation story)
Furthermore, despite having 5
children and working full-time in NYC, Dad completed his
Master’s Degree at NYU by going to night school for 3 years.
Plus, Dad would walk over a half mile to the bus stop every
morning for 34 years and commute to the city for work. And I
don’t think Dad ever had a bad day at work because once he
walked through the back door, he had the biggest proudest
smile on his face because he was home with his family and
that’s all that mattered.
Dad was involved with the
Closter Recreation for years, coaching and
volunteering. Dad also volunteered and served on the Closter
Board of health for 26 years.
Dad is the most honest person I
have ever known or met in my life. I truly believe that
there isn’t one person who has ever met my Dad, worked with
my Dad, coached with my Dad or been involved with my Dad in
some way could say a bad word about him but instead would
only express kind words and be happy to have known Tony
Neusch. There hasn’t
been an occasion where Dad hasn’t been fully devoted to the
well-being of our family. This was no more evident and on
display when my mom became ill will Alzheimer’s. For 3 long
years, my Dad heroically took care of mom attending to her
every need and cared for her with the kindest and most
selfless love. After
the passing of our mom in December of 2014, Dad once again
was the rock for our family despite losing the love of his
life the past 56 years.
Dad illustrated every day to be
strong and forge ahead in life because there is still much
to do and accomplish. And Dad knew there were still numerous
people who relied on him and needed him.
Dad also demonstrated by
example another life lesson after the passing of our mom.
After some time of healing, you can find love again. And
with God’s help Dad found Roseann. There was a potluck
dinner being held in the Fr. Roger Hall here at St. Mary’s.
Both my Dad and Roseann attended by chance. They got to
talking and things took off from there. It’s been a
beautiful partnership all these years and both my Dad and
Roseann have been better for it. My Dad always said that he
was blessed by two amazing women in his life and he was
always thankful for this incredible gift.
Dad’s love of sports never
wavered his whole life. After college, Dad eventually joined
a running club based out of Oneonta, NY. And many weekends I
would travel with him to either Kingston, New Paltz, or
Woodstock for a 5k race. I cherished those days driving with
Dad to and from his races and watching him compete. Dad ran
many local races as well, and helped George Potterton start
the Closter 5K on Labor Day weekend many years ago. Dad
continued running well into his late 60’s/early 70’s.
My most treasured memories of
Dad and sports is playing baseball. For over 45 years, we
all played baseball together. Many times we were up at Hill
Top field throwing, catching and hitting for hours at a
time. It was great when his brother Peter would join in,
family friend Charlie Franzman and later when his
grandchildren would play as well. There was nothing more
special than having 3 generations all playing the game we
love most together.
The last time I played
baseball with Dad was in October of 2021. Dad was 81+ years
old. He could still hit and was still a dead pull lefty
hitter. He had a great round of batting practice that day. I
didn’t know then that it would be the last time we ever
played baseball together. Baseball will never be the same
because we will always be one player short but each time I
take the field, Dad will be there in some way.
I know how lucky we all were to
have Tony Neusch as our Dad. You have always been my hero
and my idol. I have always looked up to and admired you
immensely. I will miss seeking your advice and wisdom. And
hearing your Fatherly life lessons. I will miss talking
sports with you especially about our favorite NY teams. I
will miss going to church with my Dad. We will all miss you
at our future family gatherings.
You have lived a beautiful,
fulfilling, influential life. You leave a beautiful legacy
that resonates throughout your 5 children and 15
grandchildren. You have touched countless lives and made the
world a better place these past 83 years.
Thank you, Dad, for everything.
We will All Miss You. We All Love You. |
