Obituary of Anne Marie Bolembach

We mourn the passing of one of the great ones – our beautiful, beloved Mother, Anne Marie Bolembach.

Born in Deutsch Eylau on July 28, 1931, she spent her childhood years in Homburg-Saar in southwestern Germany with her parents and three siblings – Rita, Gerda, and Karl.  

She grew up during the rise of the Reich and subsequent invasion and occupation by the Allies during World War II, where many less fortunate lost their lives.  

In her early twenties she followed her older sister to the land of opportunity and wound up in Northern New Jersey, where she worked as a nanny while studying English and attending secretarial school.  

She landed an administrative job in the Aerospace industry and met a wonderful man, Barry Scott. The couple soon married and had a beautiful daughter named Karin.  

Sadly, Barry was lost to cancer just a few years later, leaving her as a young widow with a very young daughter to care for.

With typical German grit, she persevered and was able to raise her daughter while working full time.  

After several years on her own, she finally agreed to a date with one of her co-workers.  That date turned into steady dating, and she eventually married this persistent guy named Matthew Bolembach.

Two sons - Mark and Kevin - came shortly thereafter in the mid-60’s, and the Bolembach family lived a humble, fairly normal suburban life.  

Once the children were old enough to be left on their own, Anne Marie put her language skills to work and got a job as a bi-lingual secretary in the German machine-tool industry.  She ran company trade shows and generally kept everyone in line at whatever firm she worked for, while keeping things in line at home as well.

After the children were grown and her second husband Matthew had passed on, she retired in the mid-90’s to enjoy a well-earned life of leisure.  

She loved remodeling & redecorating her home, throwing parties for family and friends and travelling.  She enjoyed the arts & volunteered for the NJ Symphony for many years, organizing cocktail parties and fundraisers.  She was also blessed with five grandchildren and was very proud of them all.  For 20+ years, things were really good.

In 2017 at the age of 86, Anne Marie was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.  She managed to remain semi-independent for the following year before her children had to start looking after her full-time.  

By 2020 the disease had progressed to a point that she required professional care, and she entered a Memory Care facility to get the special attention that she needed.  Two weeks later the pandemic lockdowns began.

She continued her slow decline over the next several years while the pandemic raged outside and the world transformed.  There were several health scares, and many times Anne’s future was in question, yet she always managed a remarkable recovery.  She was made of iron.

In the late morning of January 19^th, 2023 she finally decided to beat that cursed disease in the only way that it can be beaten, and she went home.

She was stern, strong, stubborn, stalwart and smart – everything you would expect from a Deutsche Frau.  We will miss her powerful presence

Farewell, beautiful Anne Marie –you will always be with us in our hearts.

Anne Marie Bolembach is survived by her children Karin Corrubia, Mark Bolembach & his wife Loretta, and Kevin Bolembach; her five grand-children – Luke Bolembach, Shannon Corrubia & her fiancé Kevin, Sean Bolembach, Seth Bolembach & Anna Bolembach; and her siblings Rita Scherwa, Gerda Jackovitz and Karl-Robert Spies and their children Tim Scherwa, Greg Scherwa, Sue Barbier and Frank-Martin Spies.

Visiting will be held 10 am to 12 pm Tuesday at the funeral home, with a 12 pm service to be held at the end of visitation. Burial will follow at the First Reformed Church Cemetery, Pompton Plains. 

In lieu of flowers, donations in Anne's memory to the Alzheimer's Association would be greatly appreciated by the Bolembach family.