Autumn Years Spring 2024

Jewish cemeteries There are nine Jewish cemeteries in the county (a number of them contain sepa rate cemeteries within them for various congregations and organizations). The majority of the cemeteries are located close to Paterson and Passaic since they served the Jewish immigrant popula tions of these cities. A number were established by workmen’s benefit associ ations, which acted as mutual aid societ ies, helping members adapt to their new lives in America. The oldest Jewish cemetery is Saddle Brook’s B’nai Israel Ahavath Joseph Cemetery, with the earliest burial dated 1887. Also in Saddle Brook is Riverside Cemetery, which holds the grave of No bel Prize winner Isidor Isaac Rabi, who was instrumental in the creation of MRI and microwave technology. In Fairview, the Mount Moriah Cemetery contains the grave of Nobel Prize winner Rosalyn Sussman Yalow (she codeveloped radio immunoassay), as well as a monument to Yugoslav Jews murdered during the Holocaust.

migrants from the northeastern regions of the Carpathian Mountains. It is the parish cemetery of Passaic’s Saints Peter & Paul Russian Orthodox Cathedral. In Lodi, the Immaculate Conception Cem etery holds the graves of 698 Catholic nuns, the majority of whom were Polish. Of special note is a cemetery in North Arlington for which no trace can be found. In 1870, the Passaic Steam Laundry was constructed between Riv erview Avenue and William Street. Em ployees were Chinese boys and young men brought from California who ini tially lived in dormitories on the laun dry property. These were the first Chi

Grave of “Joey Ramone.” (Lyndhurst).

Oldest Jewish tombstones in Bergen County.

In Lyndhurst, the New Mount Zion Cemetery is the resting place of Jeffrey Ross Hyman, better known as Joey Ra mone, lead singer and cofounder of the rock band The Ramones. Cedar Park & Beth El Cemeteries is the largest Jew ish cemetery in the county, spanning Paramus, Emerson and Washington Township. Buried here are Academy Award-winning actor Martin Balsam and cosmetics queen Estée Lauder. Other cultures Bergen County is a melting pot of

St. Peter Greek Catholic Cemetery (Garfield).

nese people to live in New Jersey. Just months after the opening of the laun dry, a 28-year-old worker, Ah Ling, died. The owner allowed the man to

be buried on the grounds of the laundry. Subsequent ly, other Chinese workers were buried on the laundry grounds, although the exact number remains unknown. There were no tombstones, the laundry closed and an other business took over the building after 1912. By 1995, a housing develop ment was built on the site.

various cultures, and its cemeteries reflect that. In Garfield, St. Peter Greek Catholic Cemetery has monuments with Eastern Orthodox Crosses as well as tombstones in Cyrillic, Slovak, Polish and other lan guages. Saddle Brook’s St. Peter and St. Paul’s Russian Orthodox Cemetery was established by Russian im

44 AUTUMN YEARS I SPRING 2024