Kozar, Mary

Birth

Mary Kozar was born Tuesday May 10, 1921. Her brothers were:

• John Kozar of Rockville, Md.
• Michael Kozar

Education

Mary Kozar graduated from Washington Irving High School in Manhattan

Marriage & Children

Mary Kozar married January 10, 1942, Paul Zuk, while he was on leave from military service. Their children were:

• Alan Zuk, and his wife, Mildred, of Berne
• Joan Pearson, and her husband, Jonathan, of Glenville
• Marilyn Warner, and her husband, Dennis, of Amherst, NH;

Death

Mary Kozar Zuk died on Friday, February 22, 2008, at the Guilderland Center Nursing Home, She was 86.

Obituary

Mary Kozar Zuk Obituary - Altamont Enterprise — February 28, 2008

Mary Zuk

BERNE — Mary Zuk, who was active in her community — with the local school, churches, and farms - was the ambassador of her family, said her son, Alan Zuk.

Mrs. Zuk died on Friday, Feb. 22, 2008, at the Guilderland Center Nursing Home, She was 86.

Mrs. Zuk graduated from Washington Irving High School in Manhattan and worked as a secretary in an insurance office in downtown Manhattan for several years. In January of 1942, she married her husband, Paul Zuk, while he was on leave from military service.

She traveled extensively with her husband during his military training in the United States.

"They were kind of, I would say, almost like opposites early on in that my mother grew up, primarily, in New York City, and my father was born in the town of Berne," said Alan Zuk. "They hit it off, and, unfortunately, World War II got started, and my dad was drafted into the military as were many, many, many, people. And, as the story goes, while he was on leave, they were married and he was sent to the Philippines to do his military obligation for the duration of World War II." 'That's probably the one thing that I'll remember most about her, that she never complained,'

The couple returned to New York City in 1944 and moved to Berne in 1948, where they purchased the former Austin Shultes farm in 1949. "There is a location at the intersection of High Point Road and Bradt Hollow Road that is known as Zuk's Corners. That is where his parents had a small farm, and that is where he did his early childhood and attended Middleburgh High School," Alan Zuk said of his father.

After World War II, Paul Zuk was working as an auto mechanic for a taxicab company in New York City. The opportunity came along to purchase the Austin Shultes Farm around 1950; said Alan Zuk. "He purchased it in partnership with another gentleman. And the farmhouse was a two-family house. Around. 1957 or so, my father bought out the other half of the partnership and continued to operate it by himself with our family," he said. "My mother was, of course, by his side all the time until they sold the farm in 1975. My mother was with him every day, alongside him, doing the farm chores," he said.

Both Mr. and Mrs. Zuk grew up during The Great Depression. "I think the goal was to make a success of their farm, and, by virtue of the fact that they grew up during The Great Depression, they knew how to conserve — conserve everything^ dollars, get by with less than what we would expect to be creature comforts now, just to get through it all," said Alan Zuk.

As his father had a farm background and his mother grew up with a very industrious family as well, they were no strangers to hard work, said Alan Zuk. "It was very natural for them to work hard." Mrs. Zuk's hobby was her children, he said. Alan Zuk called his mother "the ambassador of the family."

"I think her interests were, us — the kids," he said.

Mrs. Zuk was active in the Beaverdam and Berne Reformed churches and was a member of the guild.

She was a Sunday-school teacher as well as a Sunday-school superintendent and made sure that her children did well in their high school, studies, Alan Zuk said.

"She was interested in the Farm Bureau - the success of that organization," he said. Mrs, Zuk served at the Cornell Cooperative Extension in Voorheesville as an adviser to people who would call in with questions about growing plants, Alan Zuk said. She was also involved with the local historical society, the Berne-Knox-Westerlo School Board, and the Parent-Teacher Association.

In her later years, Mr. Zuk said, "She had very severe arthritis. And she, obviously, was in pain because of the arthritis — the joint pain — but she rarely complained, rarely complained about that," he skid. "That's probably the one thing that I'll remember most about her, that she never complained."

Mary Zuk is survived by her children, Alan Zuk, and his wife, Mildred, of Berne; Joan Pearson, and her husband, Jonathan, of Glenville; and Marilyn Warner, and her husband, Dennis, of Amherst, NH; and by her four grandchildren, Stephanie and Laura Zuk; Jonathan Pearson, and his wife, Sara; and Christopher Pearson- She is also survived by her brother, John Kozar of Rockville, Md.; and several nieces, nephews, grandnieces, and grandnephews in the Washington, D.C. area. Her husband, Paul Zuk, died before her as did her brother; Michael Kozar.

A funeral service was held on Tuesday at the First Reformed Church of Berne. The Fredendall Funeral Home in Altamont made the arrangements.

Memorial contributions may be made to the First Reformed Church of Berne, Berne, NY 12022; or to the Helderberg Ambulance Squad, Post Office Box 54; East Berne,, NY 12059.

— Tyler Schilling

Altamont Enterprise — February 28, 2008

Additional Media

Happy Anniversary Greetings to Paul and Mary Zuk on the 10th;

Altamont Enterprise - January 5, 1984

Mary Zuk: Social Security Death Index (SSDI) Death Record
Name: Mary Zuk
State of Issue: New York
Date of Birth: Tuesday May 10, 1921
Date of Death: Friday February 22, 2008
Est. Age at Death: 86 years, 9 months, 12 days
Confirmation: Verified
Last known residence:
City: Berne; South Berne; West Berne
County: Albany
State: New York
ZIP Code: 12023
Latitude: 42.6069
Longitude: -74.1594

Sources

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